United Airlines recently updated its Contract of Carriage, officially including "headphones must be worn when listening to or watching audio and video content on board". According to this updated regulation, if a passenger fails to comply with a series of behavioral regulations, including wearing headphones, the airline has the right to "deny carriage on a permanent or temporary basis" and to remove the passenger from the aircraft at any stage of the flight.
According to US media CBS News, this change comes from United Airlines’ latest revision of contract terms. The core is to upgrade the previous practice of “encouraging” passengers to wear headphones through in-flight Wi-Fi usage rules into a binding formal term. United Airlines spokesperson Stella Balaskas said in response that the company "always encourages" passengers to wear headphones when listening to audio content, and has already reminded passengers to do so in its in-flight Wi-Fi instructions. She also pointed out that given the expansion of Starlink high-speed Internet service deployment in the United fleet last year, now is "an appropriate time" to further strengthen this headset use requirement by updating the "Contract of Carriage".
Under the new regulations, the behavior of not wearing headphones as required and listening to audio in the form of external playback is clearly included in the violations that may lead to denial of carriage. The terms state that United may temporarily or permanently deny transportation to passengers who violate such regulations and, if necessary, remove them from the flight at any point in the flight. This statement means that travelers who repeatedly refuse to comply with the headphone rule could theoretically risk being banned from United flights for a long time or even permanently.
For passengers who may not have portable headphones, United Airlines emphasizes on its official website that passengers can request a free pair of wired earbuds on board "subject to availability." This reduces the room for disputes arising from "no headphones available" during the implementation process to a certain extent, and enables the company to insist on requiring all passengers who play audio content to use headphones in actual operations.
This adjustment to the terms is seen as United's move to redefine cabin order and passenger experience in the context of significant improvements in in-flight connectivity capabilities. With the popularity of high-speed Internet services such as Starlink on flights, the use of in-flight streaming videos, social media short videos and Internet phone calls has increased. The unified requirement to wear headphones is obviously aimed at preventing external noise from interfering with other people's flight experience.