The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday launched a nationwide campaign urging travelers to improve their behavior at airports and on flights, as disruptive incidents remain far above pre-pandemic levels.
The effort, called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” aims to restore civility in the skies and address a surge in disruptive behavior. The department said the initiative is meant to “jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”
Disruptive passenger incidents doubled in 2024 compared with 2019, while in-flight outbursts — ranging from inappropriate behavior to physical attacks — surged 400% by 2025.
The Department of Transportation said the campaign aimed to improve the travel experience while ensuring the safety of passengers, flight crew and airport staff.
In a video promoting the campaign, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged travelers to consider their conduct, asking whether they help pregnant passengers or older adults with overhead luggage, or simply say “please” and “thank you.”
He also asked passengers to “dress with respect” ahead of the holiday travel season.
Of the 82 million Americans expected to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, about 6 million are expected to commute by plane this year, or a 2% increase from 2024, according to a forecast by the American Automobile Association.
International tourism grew 5% in the first half of 2025 from a year ago, reaching almost 690 million passengers, the United Nations World Tourism Organization said. That figure is 4% above the comparable period in 2019.
The U.S. isn’t alone in pushing for better passenger behavior. The United Kingdom‘s aviation industry introduced the “One Too Many” campaign in 2018 to curb alcohol-related incidents.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency also launched an initiative in 2019 to raise awareness of unruly behavior, noting then that unruly passengers threaten flight safety every 3 hours, with 70% of incidents involving some form of aggression.
In 2015, China also began a blacklist of passengers who are disruptive on flights after a series of high-profile incidents.
Despite these measures, reports of unruly passenger incidents continue to climb. More than 53,000 incident reports were filed by over 60 operators worldwide, or one incident for every 395 flights in 2024, the International Air Transport Association said in June. That compares with one incident for every 405 flights a year earlier.
