- United Airlines has quietly updated its regulations on the use of headphones
- Passengers will now be required to wear headphones when listening to music and other media.
- If you don’t comply, you could be kicked off the plane or even face a permanent ban.
Inflight media makes those long, tedious trips pass quickly, but a quiet new change to United Airlines’ terms and conditions imposes strict etiquette on passengers with headphones, which could result in permanent bans if not followed.
The airline has recently updated its contract of carriage with a new clause stating that all passengers must wear headphones or earphones in an attempt to limit noise levels as much as possible, ensuring a quiet experience for everyone. This applies to passengers listening to audio, browsing social media or watching videos.
Under its ‘Refusal of Transportation’ section, United Airlines now reserves “the right to refuse transportation” to all passengers “who do not use headphones while listening to audio or video content.” If passengers do not comply with the airline’s new guidelines, they could face removal from a flight, a temporary suspension or even a permanent ban.
That said, United Airlines ensures that passengers can request headphones on board, sharing on its website: “Don’t worry if you forget your headphones for your flight. If they are available, you can request free headphones.”
This follows the airline’s recent changes to its WiFi rules, when it shared a statement with USA Today that said: “With the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make it even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.” According to the airline, its updated WiFi rules have already encouraged passengers to use headphones during the flight, but travel denial threats further tighten the requirement.
According to travel expert Scott Keyes, this is one of the first cases in which a US airline has implemented such regulations. Although other leading airlines have guidelines to encourage the use of headphones in flight, they do not enforce them to the point where it is possible to remove them from the plane. Additionally, Keyes offered the following information:
“This is in line with how the vast majority of travelers behave and would like others to behave,” he shared with CBS News, adding, “Typically, only a small number of people on airplanes make noise by not wearing headphones, so this is an elegant way to handle those people.”
This major update adds to United Airline’s list of misdemeanors that could warrant your expulsion or ban from traveling on its planes, which also includes wearing offensive clothing, making voice or video calls after the plane doors have closed, failing to follow the airline’s no-smoking policy, and more. Now playing TikTok and YouTube videos at full volume has been added to the list, because no one wants the shrill noises of irritating childish Internet personalities interrupting a long-haul flight.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and tiktok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
