Stop wearing pyjamas on the plane, says US Secretary of Transportation

Passport? Check. Suitcase? Check. But what about your pillbox hat?

- Claire Fahy

As travellers head to the airports this holiday season, the United States government wants them to rethink their travel checklists, their behaviour and their outfits.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy began a new campaign on Nov 19 called The Golden Age Of Travel Starts With You, complete with a 1960s-style public service announcement that spliced together scenes of the country's first air travellers, dressed in suits and hats, with present-day clips of in-flight brawls and airport meltdowns.

But the Transportation Department's accompanying news statement criticised more than fighting. It chastised fliers for forgetting to say “please” and “thank you”, and for not helping older or pregnant passengers put their bags in the overhead bins.