The new inflight rule that could get you banned from United Airlines

United Airlines might kick you off a flight if you don’t use headphones to listen to devices

Blasting music, your favorite podcast, or your bestie’s TMI voicemail for all to hear can be an annoying experience for those nearby. But one airline isn’t just looking down on passengers who allow sounds from their devices to be overheard by those around them. They’re kicking them off planes.

In a newly released policy, United Airlines said it would ban passengers who don’t abide by its new headphone rule. The airline added the rule to its Contract of Carriage, which passengers agree to when buying a plane ticket. Under the Refusal of Transport category, which lists reasons why a passenger may be booted from a flight, the rule is laid out.

“Passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content,” the airline states. The rule also explains that a flier who refuses to wear headphones and thus “causes UA any loss, damage or expense of any kind” may be expected to reimburse the airline for said losses. Refusal to wear headphones could even result in a permanent ban from the airline, the policy states.

“We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content — and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,” a United spokesman told Fast Company in an email, adding that the carrier is expanding its high-speed Starlink connectivity. “It seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.”

While the rule may seem harsh, it’s not difficult to abide by — the airline will hand out free basic wired sets to anyone who doesn’t have their own headphones.

The policy is mostly being applauded on social media. In response to a post about the change on X, one commenter wrote, “Every frequent flyer approves this.” Another said, “It is crazy this is even a thing! You would have to be insane to not use headphones on a flight! It’s common courtesy to wear em!”

While United may be the first airline to suggest they’ll enforce such a policy, most airlines do have similar guidance around headphone use. On its entertainment page, which features movie options for passengers to enjoy while en route to their destination, Delta Airlines asks, “For the comfort of everyone around you, please use earbuds or headphones with any personal electronic device during your flight.”

Likewise, Southwest’s help center page states that “Headphones are required whenever a passenger is listening to any audio.”