‘Dress a little better’: Transportation secretary urges Americans to ditch pajamas, slippers at airport
Sec. Sean Duffy speaks on Thanksgiving travel
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy discussed travel expectations for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday at Newark Liberty International Airport. Duffy also answered questions on his new civility campaign, bonuses for air traffic controllers, and more.
DALLAS - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy discussed travel expectations for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday at Newark Liberty International Airport.
During the press conference on Monday, Duffy urged Americans to consider "dressing with some respect" as Americans travel during the busy holiday season.
Duffy urges Americans to ditch pajamas, slippers during holiday travel
What they're saying:
"I think we have to think about how do we do a better job," adding, "We should say please and thank you to our pilots and to our flight attendants. I think, again, I call this, just maybe dressing with some respect. You know, whether it's a pair of jeans and a decent shirt. I would encourage people to maybe dress a little bit better, which encourages, encourages us to maybe behave a little better. Let's try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport."
Lines of airplane passengers proceed through the TSA security checkpoint at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. (Credit: Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
Before taking some questions from reporters, Duffy added, "I actually almost wore a pair of jeans. I'm like, I better not if I'm going to talk about dressing up."
Busiest holiday travel week expected
Dig deeper:
The Federal Aviation Administration is gearing up for what it predicts will be its busiest Thanksgiving travel period in 15 years.
"This week there will be 31 million passengers flying by air. as, we look to the week," Duffy continued. "Tomorrow will be the busiest day. There'll be 52,000 flights tomorrow."
According to AAA, nearly 82 million people will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, either by plane, car or other forms of transit. That would make it the busiest travel week ever.
RELATED: Tips for what could be the busiest travel season in 15 years
The FAA says more than 360,000 flights are scheduled for Thanksgiving week.
Tuesday is expected to be the busiest airport travel day with more than 52,000 flights scheduled.
TSA recommends arriving at the airport at least two hours before a scheduled domestic flight, and three hours for an international flight. There could be some unexpected hiccups as airlines and airports recover from the government shutdown.
TSA says you can download the MyTSA app to check how busy your airport will likely be based on historical data.
The Source: The information for this story was taken from comments provided by Sean Duffy during a press conference on Nov. 25, 2025. Previous FOX Local reporting contributed. This story was reported from Los Angeles.