Airports across the United States have become an unexpected stage for a sartorial showdown. In recent weeks, a rising number of travelers have donned pajamas, slippers, and other ultra-casual attire as a pointed response to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s etiquette campaign, which urges Americans to bring back "courtesy and class" to air travel. The Trump administration’s initiative, titled "The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You," was announced just before the busy Thanksgiving travel rush, but instead of inspiring a return to old-school glamour, it has sparked a wave of playful—and sometimes political—resistance.
At the heart of the controversy is Secretary Duffy’s public plea for passengers to “dress a little better” at airports. In a press conference ahead of the holiday travel season, Duffy suggested, “Whether it’s a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which maybe encourages us to maybe behave all a little better. Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport.” According to The Independent and The Washington Post, this call for decorum was intended to address what the Department of Transportation described as a troubling uptick in unruly passenger behavior. The department cited data showing a 400 percent increase in outbursts on airplanes since 2019, with nearly 14,000 "unruly passenger incidents" reported over the past four years.
But for many travelers, the message landed with a thud—or, perhaps, a yawn. As soon as Duffy’s remarks hit the airwaves and social media feeds, a countermovement began to take shape. Passengers across the country started posting videos and photos of themselves at airports, proudly clad in pajamas, sweatsuits, and slippers. Some saw it as an act of mischievous defiance; others, as a form of political protest or commentary on the state of modern air travel.
Cat Sullivan, a Los Angeles-based TV producer and internet comedian, took the concept of "malicious compliance" to new heights. After hearing Duffy’s directive, she rummaged through her closet for the most over-the-top outfit she could find. Should she wear a satiny white gown, a Barbie-pink power suit, or a feathery green cocktail dress? Ultimately, she chose a long, Old Hollywood-style dress paired with sneakers, and filmed herself dashing through the airport concourse. “I never bail on a bit,” Sullivan joked in a video, later recalling in an interview that the dress was "incredibly impractical"—especially when she landed in frigid Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “It was definitely not the right thing to be wearing,” she admitted, highlighting the disconnect between Duffy’s nostalgia for the "Golden Age of Travel" and the realities of today’s flying experience.
Other travelers, meanwhile, doubled down on comfort, using social media to broadcast their airport attire as a form of resistance. Democratic activist Johnny Palmadessa, for example, posted a TikTok video from the Portland, Maine airport, strutting in red plaid pajama pants as a sound bite of Duffy’s advice played in the background. “Triggering Donald Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy,” read the on-screen text. In an interview with The Washington Post, Palmadessa explained that he typically wears pajama pants when he flies, but this time, it was a deliberate statement. “The priorities of this administration are so not straight,” he said, arguing that President Trump and Secretary Duffy should focus on making air travel more affordable so Americans could actually afford to dress up if they wished.
The pajama protest quickly gained traction online, with hashtags like #pajamaresistance popping up on TikTok and Instagram. Some travelers, like lifestyle creator Sammy Knight, joked that Duffy’s campaign had inspired them to "exclusively wear pajamas to the airport now." In reality, Knight told The Washington Post, she favors sweatpants, leggings, or jeans paired with a sweatshirt. “You already spent so much money on the tickets and the whole process of traveling,” she said. “It’s never bothered me to see someone comfortable before. I think it’s absurd.”
Comedian Michelle Wolf joined the fray with a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post, quipping, “I should wear my nicest suit so I can sit in someone else’s Biscoff crumbs.” She summed up the mood of many fliers: “We’re not dressing for the air travel we want, we’re dressing for the air travel we have.”
For some, the campaign struck a nerve beyond mere fashion. Robyn Iacona, an administrative assistant from Louisiana, chose jogger-style pajama pants, a T-shirt, and compression socks for her return flight from Dublin. “Civility starts with being a good human and leading by example,” she wrote in an email interview. “And not with whether or not one wears pajama pants and slippers on a long haul flight.”
Even aviation journalists joined in the fun. Benét J. Wilson, a seasoned reporter, faced a dilemma before her December 2 flight: dress up in a black velvet dress or embrace the comfort of pajamas? She flipped a coin—pajamas won. After enduring multiple flight delays, she posted on social media, “Good thing I decided to wear pajamas and slippers. This may be my new travel uniform.” Wilson’s verdict on the administration’s campaign was blunt: the government has “bigger fish to fry” than policing airport fashion.
Of course, not everyone was critical of the etiquette push. Some commentators, including a New York Post columnist, have bemoaned the rise of “stained Garfield pajama pants” and blankets dragged through terminals, arguing that standards have slipped too far. And a handful of travelers have posted their own "Duffy-approved" outfits, showing that the campaign has its supporters—albeit a vocal minority.
Yet the overwhelming response online has been one of mockery, resistance, and a focus on comfort over appearance. Many travelers pointed out the realities of air travel in 2025: delays, rising fees, stripped-down amenities, and minimal service. For them, the notion of dressing up for the airport seems out of step with the current flying experience. As one TikTok user put it, “Well now I absolutely must wear my pajamas to the airport!”
The Transportation Department, for its part, maintains that the etiquette campaign is about more than just clothes. By promoting a return to "courtesy and class," officials hope to address the spike in unruly passenger behavior. But as the pajama protests show, many Americans believe that civility in the skies has more to do with respect, affordability, and comfort than with dress codes or nostalgia for a bygone era.
As the holiday season continues, the debate shows no sign of cooling off. Whether travelers opt for cocktail dresses, pajamas, or anything in between, one thing is clear: the airport has become a runway for a very modern kind of rebellion.
