A new policy change will allow United Airlines to refuse transport to passengers who play media without headphones.
If you’re blasting a TikTok video on your next United Airlines flight, think again. He could face a permanent ban from the Chicago-based airline.
Wearing headphones during a flight has long been considered proper etiquette, but United Airlines has made it mandatory. As first reported by CBS News, United Airlines quietly updated its terms of carriage on February 27 to include “passengers who did not use headphones while listening to audio or video content” as a reason for refusal of carriage, with the possibility of permanent banishment from the airline.
According to the Refusal of Carriage section, a legally binding condition that passengers agree to when purchasing a ticket, the Contract of Carriage provides that United Airlines “shall have the right to refuse carriage, permanently or temporarily, or to remove the passenger from the aircraft at any time.”
United Airlines did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
The addition is listed under safety, meaning it “may be necessary” to refuse or remove passengers for the safety of everyone on the plane.
Other violations that can result in being removed from the plane or permanently banned include: Breaking the no-smoking policy. You can also make video calls and phone calls when the aircraft door is closed, while taxiing for takeoff, or during flight.
Travelers who forget their headphones don’t have to sit in silence. United Airlines says you can request free earphones if available.
