United Airlines is taking steps to limit noise in its planes’ cabins, while still allowing travelers to use their personal electrnic devices.
United amended its so-called contract of carriage, which outlines the carrier’s rules and policies, to require that all passengers wear headphones when listening to a device. The airline also said it reserves the right to remove anyone who doesn’t comply with the new rules and potentially ban them from flying on United in the future.
Any passenger listening to music, watching a video or scrolling a social media feed that emits sound must wear headphones, states the revised contract of carriage, which United quietly updated on Friday.
The carrier also may “refuse transport, on a permanent basis,” to any passengers who “fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content,” according to the airline’s new rules.
Travel expert Scott Keyes told CBS News he’s unaware of any other major U.S. airline that has adopted such a rule. Carriers encourage passengers to wear headphones, but none explicitly states that failure to comply with that request could result in removal from an aircraft, he said.
“This is in line with how the vast majority of travelers comport themselves and would like others to comport themselves,” he said. “It’s usually only a small number of folks on airplanes who are making noise by not using headphones, so this is a graceful way to handle those folks.”
United notes on its website that, in some instances, it will provide customers who forget theirs a free pair of earbuds.
“Don’t worry if you forget your headphones for your flight. If they’re available, you can request free earbuds,” the airline states.
