Refusing to wear headphones could get you kicked off United flights
United enforces headphone rule to curb in-flight noise and disruptions
United Airlines now requires passengers to use headphones for personal devices, giving flight attendants authority to enforce the rule and recover costs from noncompliance, aiming to improve in-flight comfort.
Watching a movie with no headphones, or blasting your music for the whole plane to head, may result in a flight ban as one popular airline finally addresses a passenger pet peeve.
What we know:
United Airlines recently added a headphone policy to its "Contract of Carriage," the legally binding terms passengers agree to when purchasing an airline ticket.
It appears under the airline’s "Refusal of Transport" section, which outlines circumstances that allow United to deny boarding or remove a passenger from a flight.
"Passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content," the addition reads.
The policy also states that any passenger who causes "loss, damage or expense of any kind" may be responsible for reimbursing the airline.
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What they're saying:
United confirmed that passengers are now required to use headphones onboard flights in a statement to FOX News.
"We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content, and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones," the airline said. "With the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage."
Big picture view:
While other airlines encourage passengers to use headphones while flying, United is the first major U.S. airline to formally include headphone use in its legally binding passenger agreement.
What you can do:
Passengers who don't have their own headphones can ask for a free basic wired pair, according to United’s website.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from United Airlines and FOX News.