United Can Now Ban Fliers Who Don't Use Headphones

If you like your in-flight TikToks loud, United Airlines has a new message for you: Shield other passengers from those sounds or get off. The carrier has quietly rewritten its contract of carriage to require passengers to use headphones for any audio or video content, from music to social media. Travelers who refuse can be removed from the flight and potentially barred from flying United going forward, reports CBS News. United tells USA Today that it already pushes using headphones in its WiFi rules and that, "with the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage."

Travel expert Scott Keyes tells CBS that he doesn't know of any other major US airline that makes headphone use mandatory, with possible removal as a consequence of not doing so. He frames the move as catching up to how "the vast majority of travelers comport themselves," saying it targets the small group that plays sound aloud. United says it may hand out free earbuds to customers who forget theirs "if they're available."