Tampa's airport is not actually sending anyone home to change out of their flannel pants. The Florida hub lit up social media on Thursday after its X account declared it was cracking down on "an even larger crisis" than Crocs: travelers wandering the terminals in pajamas "in the middle of the day."
- "We know this decision could be disruptive to someone in your life. It's time to have a difficult conversation with them. You can do this," the airport wrote. "The madness stops today. The movement starts now. Help Tampa International Airport become the world's first Crocs-free and pajama-free airport."
Confused users immediately asked whether sweatpants would be targeted and how any ban would be enforced. By day's end, the airport clarified to People that the whole thing was satire. The airport said it regularly posts "lighthearted, satirical" content to spark engagement, calling the pajama "ban" a playful riff on travel-day fashion debates. "Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up," airport spokesman Beau Zimmer tells the AP. "But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable."
Previous viral posts have included the supposed ban on Crocs and references to "Phoebe," the giant flamingo sculpture in the main terminal that was named in an online contest. For months, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has been urging people to be better dressed when traveling, People notes. "I can't mandate you dress up, but don't wear pajamas and slippers to the airport. I think if you dress a little better, you behave a little better," he said in January. On X, he responded to the airport's pajama ban post with a GIF of John Krasinski's character from the office saying "Yes!"
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