In the Land of the Free, transport authorities are asking air passengers to “control” their children and dress “with respect” as part of a new campaign to bring back kindness and civility and rekindle a Golden Age of travel.
The US Department of Transportation “The Golden Age of Travel starts With You” campaign urges air passengers behave with kindness and civility with romanticised references to times gone by. Using Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly with Me to evoke the mid-century glamour of commercial aviation, a campaign video unfavourable contrasts footage of today’s barefoot and unruly passengers, with well-dressed and genteel travellers of the past.
Launching the drive ahead of what is forecast to be a busy Thanksgiving holiday season, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asks passengers a series of questions reflecting on their manners and respect for others.
- Are you helping a pregnant woman or the elderly with placing their bags in the overhead bin?
- Are you dressing with respect?
- Are you keeping control of your children and helping them through the airport?
- Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants?
- Are you saying please and thank you in general?
Explaining the reasoning behind the campaign, US DOT cites a 400% surge in unruly behaviour at airports since 2019, with the Federal Aviation Administration recording 13,800 incidents of passenger disruption since 2021. But critics point out the majority of cases occurred the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, with the incidents spiking in 2021 and falling since. They also question the need for government intervention on things such as shifting dress codes which they say are the result of cultural change and cannot be legislated.
But others argue the tone of the campaign is nostalgic rather than heavy-handed and say the expectations on standards of dress are a bare minimum. Speaking to NBC News for example, a DOT spokesperson said dressing with respect should entail at least keeping shoes and socks on.
The US campaign follows recent law changes in France in response to similar European data on increasing passenger disruption. Introducing a suite of new fines and penalties for air travel offences, the Ministry of Transport there is targeting flyer behaviour that interferes with the safe operation of flights or prevents air crew from carrying out their duties. A new database of recorded incidents will be created, and the worst offenders could find themselves on a No-Fly list for up to four years.
