Tampa International Airport reignited one of the internet's favorite culture war debates this week after jokingly announcing a "ban" on pajamas in the terminal.
The tongue-in-cheek post, which follows the airport’s previous fake Crocs prohibition, as well as very real statement from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urging people to "dress a little better" for their flights, landed amid renewed political commentary about how Americans should dress for flights.
Flyers, meanwhile, are more concerned about constant flight delays and poor conditions.
Tampa Airport: Not another airport dress code debate
For whatever reason, the X account for the Tampa Airport decided to reignite the highly partisan debate over how to dress to defy gravity on a random Thursday.
"After successfully banning Crocs and giving everyone the amazing opportunity to experience the world’s first Crocs-free airport, it’s time to take on an even larger crisis," the post reads. "Pajamas. At. The. Airport. In the middle of the day."
This, like their "Crocs ban," is a jape. You're still allowed to wear pajamas and Crocs at the airport. Just be careful on escalators.
What is real are the comments from right-wing users posting marketing materials from decades prior to the Civil Rights Act and declaring that life was better back then. Everyone's dressed up, probably because they were rich and had leg room, and nearly every passenger is white.
There have always been those who consider going outside in pajamas to be a mortal sin, but the issue became starkly political after Duffy weighed in. In November 2025, instead of addressing critical staffing shortages, he urged flyers to make themselves less comfortable in their cramped sky tubes.
"Whether it's a pair of jeans and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave a little better," he said. "Let's try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport."
He shared no source for the declaration that outfit choice impacts behavior.
People got mad about it then, and they're mad again now.
"Fix the delays first"
Accounts with U.S. flags in the name largely supported the facetious ban, while some commenters joked back. Left-leaning accounts, meanwhile, appear to think the Tampa Airport is trying to cater to the types of people who want to turn back time to when women couldn't have bank accounts without a man's permission.
"This is literally a fascism indicator," said @transybooo.
User @rockmeannadeus wrote that the airport dress code issue is "continuing to be maybe one of the stupidest things the right cares about."
Even when it didn't get political, a lot of folks weren't laughing. Instead, they'd like some real air travel issues fixed, please and thank you.
"Jokes aside, if we were treated like people and not cargo, people might dress better," wrote @TCGView. "We barely have any leg room, get literal peanuts for a snack, and are held in nothing more than cargo areas with terrible chairs."
"The bathrooms smell, and there is always some yellow liquid on the floor, and all the stuff to buy from the shops there is so overpriced, I might as well be buying from a hotel minibar."
"Fix the delays first. Then we'll talk about my pajamas," said @ssushilllltwt.
There were over 2,000 delays within, into, or out of the U.S. during the morning Tampa International Airport posted that tweet.
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