Monday, the Trump administration urged airlines and airports to provide healthier food, exercise equipment, and family amenities including playspaces and nursing facilities for travelers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference at Reagan Washington National Airport that he had called a majority of major U.S. airline CEOs and asked them what they could do to improve the travel experience.
Duffy last month urged airlines to add healthier on-board food options and to dump salty pretzels and calorie-laden cookies.
Asked if he could do anything to lower costs for food at airports, Duffy said on Monday it was tied to market demand and supply.
“They have people pretty tightly contained and there’s not a lot of options – so I don’t have a plan to reduce costs,” Duffy said. “What I am trying to do is provide healthier options.”
Duffy also urged airports to add more dedicated spaces for young children and exercise equipment and to boost places for mothers to nurse their children.
“This is not about mandates. This is not requirements. This is a conversation about, could we offer healthier options?” Duffy said on Monday. “How do we make the experience, as we all travel together, just a little bit better? That’s the conversation we’re having. But I’m not cramming this down anyone’s throat…. I’m not fining anyone if they wear their pajamas on the airplane.”
That last remark followed comments Duffy made last month, appealing to passengers to act and dress nicely during air travel and not to wear pajamas and slippers to the airport.
In a bid to illustrate the benefits of pre-flight workouts, Duffy and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy then took turns doing pull-ups at the airport to tout the benefits of getting exercise before flights.
When a journalist at the event asked if all that exercise might leave passengers a little “gamey,” they were assured that even a few minutes of exercise would be beneficial.
The conference was meant to launch Duffy’s “Make Travel Family Friendly Again” campaign, announcing $1 billion in funding to support the initiative.
In addition, Duffy said he had no update on a Transportation Department proposal issued under President Joe Biden that would prevent airlines from charging fees to seat families with young children together on U.S. flights if adjacent seats were available during booking.
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