Dear DOT: Civility in Travel Starts with Policies that Protect Passengers
At Jetiquette, we believe civility in travel is essential — not optional. The chaos, frustration, and tension that often define modern air travel are real, and the call for more kindness and composure is one we wholeheartedly support.
But here’s the problem: you cannot lecture travelers about behaving better while simultaneously dismantling the very protections that make travel humane and dignified.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), under Secretary Sean P. Duffy, recently launched a campaign encouraging travelers to be more courteous — suggesting that the “Golden Age of Travel” depends on better passenger behavior. Yet behind the scenes, the DOT has been rolling back key consumer protections that make travel more difficult, more inequitable, and more frustrating for those same passengers.
Let’s call this what it is: a double standard. Civility cannot be a one-way street.
The Reality Behind the Rhetoric
Here’s what’s happening while the DOT urges passengers to “mind their manners”:
Regulations that would have properly compensated travelers for flight delays and cancellations were canceled. Now, airlines have even less incentive to run on time or treat delays seriously — and passengers are left absorbing the cost. (Source: USA Today)
Key provisions in a new wheelchair rule were frozen, delaying long-overdue reforms that would have held airlines accountable for damaging mobility devices. (Source: Runway Girl Network)
So while the DOT encourages passengers to “be nicer,” it’s also telling airlines, in effect: you’re free to do less.
Airlines for America: A Lost Opportunity for Leadership
Major airlines, represented by the lobbying group Airlines for America, have also backed efforts to roll back consumer protections — from delay compensation to refund requirements. (Source: The Hill)
This is more than a policy debate. It’s a statement about priorities. And right now, the message being sent to travelers is this: We expect you to act better, even as the system treats you worse.
That’s not civility — that’s hypocrisy.
Jetiquette’s Stand: Civility with Accountability
Founded by former flight attendant Gailen David, Jetiquette was built on the belief that travel can be both efficient and humane, elevated and inclusive. We’ve long encouraged travelers to lead with kindness and patience, especially in high-stress moments. But kindness must be matched by fairness. And patience cannot excuse policy failures.
“You can’t strip away basic protections from travelers and then ask them to smile about it,” said Gailen David. “Civility isn’t just about being polite — it’s about creating a system that respects people at every stage of their journey. That has to start with leadership.”
We call on:
The DOT to reverse course and reinstate consumer protections that respect travelers’ time, mobility, and dignity.
Airlines and their advocacy groups to stop treating empathy as a PR talking point and start embedding it into their policies.
Travelers to continue modeling kindness in motion — but not remain silent when fairness is taken off the table.
Airlines and airports to take greater responsibility for improving the overall travel experience by embedding the core principles of Jetiquette — ease, empathy, and dignity — into every passenger touchpoint. These values shouldn’t be exclusive to first class lounges or priority boarding lanes. The race to strip away comfort and care in the name of profit has gone too far. It’s time to rebuild air travel in a way that honors every traveler — not just the most profitable ones.
If the industry wants civility, it must also offer accountability. Because you can’t ask travelers to behave better in a system that keeps behaving worse.
For media inquiries or to speak with Gailen David, please contact Jetiquette Media Relations at media@jetiquette.org
