If you’ve ever been stuck on a flight listening to someone scroll a TikTok feed or music blasting from their phone speaker, this news will come as a welcome relief. United Airlines has updated its passenger rules to require headphones when playing audio or video on personal devices.
Under the new policy, travelers must wear headphones or earbuds when listening to music, watching videos, or using any app that produces sound. If someone refuses after being asked to comply, even after being offered a free set of earbuds, the airline now has the authority to remove them from the aircraft (though I’m not entirely sure how that removal would work once the plane is already in the air) and potentially ban them from flying United in the future.
With more passengers using their own devices for entertainment and onboard Wi-Fi more widely available, streaming movies or scrolling social media during flights has become routine. As someone who flies often for work, I’ve experienced this annoyance more times than I care to count. I’ve boarded flights hoping to get some work done or catch a little sleep, only to hear a tablet a few rows away playing “Baby Shark” on repeat or the soundtrack from an action movie echoing through the cabin. On a long flight, those bursts of dramatic explosions can feel a lot louder than they actually are.
At a time when airlines are already dealing with more disruptive passenger behavior, even something as simple as playing audio can quickly test everyone’s patience. The FAA has reported thousands of unruly passenger incidents in recent years, showing how quickly tensions can rise in a crowded cabin.
Under federal law (14 CFR § 121.580), refusing to follow crew instructions while onboard a plane is illegal. So while United is the first major US carrier to formalize a headphones rule, other airlines have language in their conditions of carriage that covers this. For example, American Airlines doesn’t explicitly spell out a headphone rule, but its conditions of carriage require passengers to behave “appropriately and respectfully,” giving crews broad authority to step in when someone is disturbing others.
The best headphones to pack for your flight
Of course, the easiest way to avoid becoming “that passenger” is to bring headphones. I recommend bringing a pair of earbuds, unless you have a lot of room in your carry-on. We've tested dozens of models for Techlicious – these are the ones that made it to the top of our must-pack list.
For the ultimate in noise cancelling, especially that low hum of the plane, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 ($299.00) easily beat out every other pair of earbuds we've tested. The sound quality is also excellent, though models like the Technics AZ-100 ($299.99) hold an edge for true musical fidelity. If those pairs are outside your budget, the Soundcore Space A40 ($49.99) delivers solid ANC and excellent sound for a fraction of the price.
And if you’re traveling with kids, a pair of volume-limited headphones like the JLab JBuddies Pro Kids Wireless Headphones ($34.99) is an easy fix. They have soft, padded earcups and sound surprisingly good for kids' headphones. There's a 3.5mm jack for seatback entertainment and a hidden switch to enable volume limiting to 85dB to protect sensitive young eardrums.
Another travel accessory we always carry with us is the Twelve South AirFly Pro ($54.99), a tiny device that plugs into the airplane’s seatback headphone jack and sends the audio wirelessly to your Bluetooth headphones. That means you can watch in-flight movies without carrying an extra pair of wired headphones or dealing with the cords every time you or your fellow passenger need to hit the head.
[Image credit: United Airlines]
