NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has launched a new campaign aimed at restoring civility and manners to the air travel experience, asking travelers to consider their behavior and impact on fellow passengers.
The campaign features a video where Duffy poses questions to viewers about common courtesy during travel, prompting discussions about what constitutes respectful behavior at 30,000 feet.
Click here to see the full video from Secretary Duffy
In the video, Secretary Duffy poses a few questions for travelers to ponder before heading to the airport:
-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?
The reason for the initiative, a major increase in disruptive behavior in mid-air.
According to the US Department of Transportation, since 2019, the FAA has seen a 400% increase in in-flight outbursts, and 2024 saw double the number of unruly passenger events compared with 2019.
To gauge public opinion on these questions, I visited Nashville's BNA airport to ask travelers about their thoughts on air travel etiquette.
When asked if they would help a pregnant or elderly person with their luggage, responses were overwhelmingly positive.
"100%," said Betsy Attig, a Nashville neighbor and mother.
"Absolutely, I would," said Mitchell Fields, a traveler from Chicago.
"Yes, and you always should," said Madelyn Rutherford, a University of Tennessee student.
"Absolutely, I would ask my fiancé to help, yes," said Yasmeen Said, a traveler at BNA.
The question of dressing with respect proved more subjective among travelers.
"I think respect can sometimes be subjective. If you were to ask that to an 80-year-old, that would probably mean a lot different than someone who's 20," Attig said.
"You just want to look presentable," Fields said.
"What I'm wearing is respectful in terms of, like, I'm not showing anything revealing," Rutherford said.
"You know, you're going to have someone next to you, as long as you're not like spilling into their seat with your skin out, then I think you're fine," said Said.
Beyond the campaign's questions, travelers shared their own suggestions for maintaining civility during air travel.
"You always say 'yes, sir; no, ma'am,'" Rutherford said.
"I feel like just trying to have conversations with the people I'm sitting by," said Ben Stanley, a traveler at BNA.
"TSA is not a fun experience; nobody likes it. Just be nice to one another when you’re in line," said Said.
Click here for some advice from BNA for traveling this coming week.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp
