Other
1981
1981-08-05 President Ronald Regan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers because they were on strike demanding better pay and conditions.
https://millercenter.org/reagan-vs-air-traffic-controllers
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-5/reagan-fires-11359-air-traffic-controllers
1997
1997-01-01 Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Duffy
2019 November
2019-11-01 Sean Duffy was a lobbyist for Partnership for Fair and Open Skies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Duffy
https://accountable.us/hearing-highlights-sean-duffy-glosses-over-major-airline-lobbying-conflict/
2025 November
2025-11-14 The Trump administration repealed a Biden-era law which was designed to compensate airline travelers who’s flights were delayed or disrupted.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/us/trump-administration-compensation-flight-disruptions-hnk
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-drops-biden-proposal-delayed-flights-airlines-compensation/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airlines-flight-disruption-transportation-department-cash-refund/
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-20042.pdf
2025-11-19 Department of Transportation Sean Duffy announced a campaign to urge travelers to dress up when flying and be in a better mood.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transportation-department-air-travel-civility-golden-age-sean-duffy/
https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/11/26/trump-dress-code-flights/
2026 February
2026-02-11 The Pentagon abruptly shut down El Paso Airport over a mistaken “cartel drone” scare involving a party balloon. First they said the shutdown was due to a “Mexican cartel drone”, then Sean Duffy posted “the threat has been neutralized”.
https://apnews.com/live/faa-el-paso-texas-air-space-closed-updates
https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/2021594420806639787
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/12/politics/el-paso-trump-administration-finger-pointing
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/coastal/politics/2026/02/11/dc-wrap
2026-02-20 Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced CDL drivers would have to take their commercial drivers tests in English, citing it would increase safety.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5748488-cdl-truck-drivers-english-test-sean-duffy/
2026 April
2026-04-17 Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced he will advocate for a hiring campaign to attract video gamers to become Air Traffic Controllers.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5836498-faa-targets-gamers-hiring/
2026 May
2026-05-03 Spirit Airlines liquidated all its assets.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/01/spirit-airlines-trump-bailout.html
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/22/nx-s1-5789050/spirit-airlines-liquidation-bankruptcy-impact
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/22/spirit-airlines-rescue-trump-administration.html
2026-05-05 Delta Airlines announced it would drop food and beverage services from flights under 350 miles.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delta-cuts-food-drink-service-short-flights-350-miles/
2026-05-12 Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy filmed a reality show, funded by firms he regulates. He was a reality TV star in the late 90’s for MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/12/nx-s1-5818190/sean-duffy-road-trip-reality-show-sponsors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wTxdxRGpAc
2026-05-14 A jury in Chicago ordered Boeing to pay nearly $50M in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal crash.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boeing-737-max-crash-victim-family-jury-49-5-million/
2026 June
2026-06-30 Airline fares climbed 26.5%
https://fortune.com/2026/06/30/airfare-airline-ticket-costs-domestic-versus-international-jet-fuel/
https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/expect-prices-high-stay-high-155812555.html
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/airfare-inflation/
2026 August
2026-08-06 After a system outage at a major air traffic control facility in Minneapolis multiple airspaces were shut down.
2026 September
2026-09-01 Sean Duffy praised EPA Lee Zeldin for eliminating an Obama-era start-stop feature on automobiles. The purpose of this feature was to lower emissions and save gas when the vehicle is not moving.
From February https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-epa-start-stop-feature-cars-impact/
2026-09-04 A disruptive passenger on American Airlines flight 618 was detained and duct taped to his chair after he became erratic, shouting racist and homophobic slurs and tried to assault other passengers.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/04/us/disruptive-passenger-duct-tape