Implying That Unruly Air Passengers Are Getting Worse (Or Blaming Alcohol) Doesn't Make It True

"You'd probably be hard-pressed at this point to find many passengers who see air travel in the U.S. as anything but a nightmare proposition of inconveniences and social hazards, something that Donald Trump's Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy recently and insultingly suggested could be addressed by passengers simply ditching their sweatpants and dressing more nicely. It's precisely because so many of us have come to loathe getting on board a plane, however, that vibes-based reporting about the experience becomes a threat:"

"That's what we find in this travel article published today by CNN, which highlights an even more perfidious threat to the flight experience than Duffy's fears of unwashed pajama pants: Drunk air passengers. The CNN piece leans on anecdotal reports and undeniably outdated data (from other countries!) to make its point, while not even bothering to cite relevant, up-to-date statistics on either unruly flyers or U.S. alcohol consumption."

"I'm always looking for relevant insights into how alcohol is being incorporated into the fabric of daily life and American society, but with this piece, my expectations immediately began to lower when I saw that the writer hadn't cited or even mentioned the single biggest narrative to be found in U.S. drinking in 2025: The fact that U.S. drinking has recently reached historic lows by several different metrics."

Air travel in the U.S. is widely perceived as inconvenient and socially hazardous. Some officials have suggested passenger attire changes as a remedy for perceived in-flight problems. Vibes-based reporting that confirms readers' instincts can omit relevant sources and data, producing misleading impressions. Coverage blaming drunk airline passengers frequently relies on anecdotal reports and outdated foreign data while failing to cite current U.S. statistics on unruly flyers or alcohol consumption. U.S. alcohol consumption reached historic lows in 2025 across several metrics, and indicators of unruly passenger incidents appear to have declined since the 2021 peak.

Read at Jezebel