United Airlines Has Officially Banned One Of The Most Annoying Passenger Habits
DJ Creative Studio | Shutterstock Air travel has become an unmitigated nightmare for myriad reasons, chief among them the ever-more-annoying habits of your fellow passengers. But when it comes to one bad passenger habit, United Airlines is saying "never again." United has banned the use of devices without headphones.
Finally, some GOOD news in air travel! And not only will the behavior no longer be tolerated, but it could come with a steep punishment for anyone who violates the new policy. Okay, it doesn't exactly end the nightmare of passengers who take their shoes off or the ones who recline their seats, but we're definitely headed in the right direction.
United Airlines has banned passengers from listening to music or watching videos without headphones.
I'm going to sound like a 93-year-old man here, but I personally cannot comprehend that it has become commonplace for people to blare music or movies or video games out of their phones at full-volume as if they're in their living room. It's not just rude. It's antisocial. It is weird that some of you think it's okay to do this!
But at least in a crowded train or restaurant, you can get up and move or leave. An airplane provides no such option, and having to listen to some jerk's music at full volume while trapped in an airborne tin can is a fate so infuriating it makes me want to bash a hole through the fuselage and jump. You people really need some manners!
Well, consider me an exclusive United customer from here on out. The airline announced in its newly released contract of carriage that it is requiring all passengers to wear headphones or earbuds. No scrolling, jamming, or watching unless you can do so silently. Hallelujah. And they're serious about it, too.
Failing to use headphones can get you banned from United Airlines for life.
Now THAT'S the kind of draconian approach we need! United quietly updated its contract of carriage, the set of rules and regulations each airline has that passengers must follow, to include the headphone requirement.
But it goes further than a mere requirement. The airline added, "Passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content" to its list of reasons it can assert "the right to refuse transport on a permanent or temporary basis or shall have the right to remove from the aircraft at any point."
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Translation: Blare the new "Fast & Furious" sequel out of your iPad, or, more likely, plunk your child in front of "Bluey" with no headphones, and United can not only kick you off the plane, but bar you from ever flying with them again. United, if you're reading this, please let me know where I can send you a bottle of champagne and a fruit basket.
United says complaints about people not using headphones have been increasing.
Of course, the first question many people with no manners will have about this is: "What if I forget my headphones? Am I supposed to just sit there in silence for the whole flight?!" Um, yes, actually, and it's weird so many think otherwise! Luckily, however, United's website states that it will provide passengers with earbuds on request. So no excuses!
But is this really that common of a thing anyway? According to travel expert Scott Keyes, what has been dubbed "loudcasting" or "bare beating" (the latter of which sounds like something on the menu of a brothel and should be retired immediately) is pretty rare. But that's certainly not perception, neither by the public nor by United.
The airline has said it added the rule due to a flood of complaints from passengers about the problem. And there's a fair bit of polling on the issue that shows it's no longer rare at all. Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, found that 36% of the population, particularly young people, regularly make a nuisance of themselves in this way.
And in a 2024 survey by audio manufacturer JBL, 76% of respondents said they want "USE HEADPHONES" signs to be placed in all public spaces and that "loudcasting" is the second most annoying part of travel, falling just one point behind people reclining their seats into your face. Doesn't seem like it's all that rare at all. Here's hoping more airlines follow United's lead.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
