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Are the days of wearing your pajamas on airplanes over?

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The days of flying in your pajamas may be over soon if the Department of Transportation gets their way.

The DOT announced their new “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You” campaign, with the goal of restoring courtesy and class to air travel.

In a video promoting the campaign, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy mentioned things like thanking flight attendants, helping pregnant women and senior citizens with their luggage, and dressing respectfully.

WTOP spoke to several travelers about the campaign at Reagan National Airport.

While all of them agreed that treating people with respect was important, the mention of flying attire caused a lot of raised eyebrows, like from Carla Sewer, who is an assistant professor at a college on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“Are there travel dress code police that says what you need to wear?” Sewer asked.

Sewer jokingly said that she likes to be covered from head to toe while flying.

“A student of mine wears her onesie to class. I thought that was so cool,” Sewer said.

Two women from Cheyenne, Wyoming, who had been visiting the District for a conference, shared their thoughts before they headed home.

“Don’t wear your pajamas, but please wear leggings or sweatpants. Be comfortable, but your pajamas are for your bedroom,” Brittney Thyarks said.

“I would happen to agree,” Debra Hibbard said. “Don’t wear your pajamas out in the world.”

While Thyarks was not a fan of flying in your pajamas, she does not want to dressed to the nines either.

“Absolutely not,” Thyarks said. “No suits, no ties, comfort. Jeans probably would be the max. I’m wearing joggers or leggings.”

Someone who didn’t mind dressing more formally while flying was Alexandria resident Terrence Dorsey.

“I really wouldn’t mind it because I look good in a suit,” Dorsey said with a laugh.

America 250: The creation of the FAA

A catastrophic midair collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956 that killed 128 people aboard two commercial airliners transformed aviation safety in America and helped lead to the creation of today’s Federal Aviation Administration. The collision, between a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation, shocked the nation, and underscored the need for greater federal oversight as commercial aviation entered the jet age.
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