As hard as it may be for you young folks to believe, it’s true: air travel used to be fun. In fact, air travel used to be glamorous. Yes, that was a long time ago, long before 9/11 and the delay, irritation, and humiliation that has been part and parcel of the security measures instituted after that. All that, however, is only the beginning of what has gone wrong with air travel.
Now Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has issued an unusual public call for the restoration of civility in the clouds. It’s unlikely to have any major effect upon what goes on in all too many airplanes (and airports) today, but it’s refreshing to see a government official actually calling upon people to behave better, instead of rewarding their delusions, fantasies, and narcissism.
It’s not your imagination. Traveling has become more uncivilized!
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 19, 2025
The Facts:
❌ 400% increase in outbursts on planes since 2019
❌ 1 in 5 flight attendants report experiencing physical incidents
❌ Unruly passenger events DOUBLED since 2019
But it doesn’t have to be this… pic.twitter.com/IS8HAemVQc
On Friday, Duffy posted on X a remarkable video juxtaposing footage from the Fly-the-Friendly-Skies era of well-dressed people behaving in a civilized manner with modern-day videos of people brawling on airplanes, breaking things at check-in counters, pulling the hair of other passengers, putting their bare feet up on the video screen, and the like.
Duffy wrote: “It’s not your imagination. Traveling has become more uncivilized!” He notes “the facts,” including the startling statistic that there has been a “400% increase in outbursts on planes since 2019,” with “1 in 5 flight attendants report experiencing physical incidents.” Duffy also points out that “unruly passenger events DOUBLED since 2019.” He concludes: “But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Golden Age of Travel starts with all of us. It’s time to bring back civility and manners when we travel.”
Why, yes, it certainly is, but in that connection, it’s useful to ask why it has come to this. In response to Duffy’s post, X users had plenty of ideas about that. One wrote:
With respect, Mr. Secretary, people aren’t suddenly less civilized; they’re just reacting to a system that treats them like cattle. Twenty years ago economy had legroom, free checked bags, meals on cross-country, and you could get to the gate in 15 minutes without a strip-search over a 4-oz bottle of water. Today’s “first class” is what coach used to be, and coach is a sardine can after you’ve paid $75 to check a bag and waited in a 90-minute TSA line because we decided 'security theater” > actual convenience. Passengers aren’t the problem. The product is. Give us back reasonable seats, predictable fees, and a security process that doesn’t assume we’re all terrorists, and you’ll see the “unruly” numbers plummet overnight. Fix the cattle car, and civility returns for free. Add more cops and longer lines, and you’ll just get more pissed-off cattle. Airlines broke the deal first. Don’t blame the customers for noticing.
That’s right on the money, but the malady also lies deeper than that. Another X user got closer to the heart of the matter, writing: “Duffy exposes the inevitable result of the left’s cultural demolition project. It’s not just a lack of manners; it’s the decay of the civic spirit caused by constantly promoting grievance, entitlement, and the absolute destruction of traditional hierarchy and respect. When institutions and the media preach that order is ‘oppression,’ you get chaos in the air and on the ground. The left created this vulgar, self-centered society, and now the consequences are flying first class. Civility starts with accountability, not collectivist platitudes.”
Exactly. In the decades since air travel was stylish and exciting, all too many Americans have lost their religious faith, that is, one principal trusted source of encouragement to be civil, respectful, and courteous. In place of faith, they’ve been marinating in the left’s culture of victimhood, with constant reminders that they’re being deprived of what is rightfully theirs.
Speaking of Cultural Decline: ‘Devout Christian’ Democrat Senate Candidate Sure Does Love His Prostitutes and OnlyFans Models
Meanwhile, the left has engaged in a thoroughgoing demonization of its political opponents. The mutual respect of past ages has given way to endlessly repeated charges that Trump is a fascist, a dictator in the making, an enemy of all that is good, and that his supporters are brainwashed racist cultists who don’t care that he destroys “our democracy” as long as he gets rid of those brown people.
All that is arrant nonsense from beginning to end, but the next time you’re in an airport, look around you and realize that all too many of the people you’re seeing believe it all, and more. So don’t be surprised the next time one of them gets you in a headlock and starts pulling your hair.
