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United Airlines is getting a lot of support from fed-up flyers for its new policy, which would require passengers to use their devices with headphones or risk being permanently banned from the airline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The new rule was added to United\u2019s contract of carriage terms under its \u201crefusal to transport\u201d section in late February. At the time, the airline didn\u2019t draw attention to the small tweak, but CBS News <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> on the change earlier this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n United\u2019s new rules say they may \u201crefuse transport, on a permanent basis\u201d any passengers who \u201cfail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The airline had already been encouraging headphone use for passengers. \u201cDon\u2019t worry if you forget your headphones for your flight. If they\u2019re available, you can request free earbuds,\u201d it says on the official <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n A spokesperson for United confirmed the change, per<\/a> NY Post. \u201cWe\u2019ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content \u2014 and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cWith the expansion of Starlink, it seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The policy change was popular among social media users, with many questioning why the practice wasn\u2019t standard across the airline industry.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf anyone around you can hear any noise coming out of your phone, ever at all, you should be arrested and flogged and then thrown into the Pacific,\u201d Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh <\/span>observed<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe inane world we\u2019re living in where we have to make this a RULE instead of accepting it as common sense and a courtesy to other humans\u2026,\u201d a second person <\/span>agreed<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t get it,\u201d a third person chimed in. \u201cWhy do people actually feel the need to use speakers? I never did and never will. Don\u2019t they know how disturbing it is? I see many people using speakers while talking on the phone like they are the only person in this world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Travel expert Scott Keyes told CBS News that only a small minority of travelers violate this standard of decorum, but the comments prove that the policy was needed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is in line with how the vast majority of travelers comport themselves and would like others to comport themselves,\u201d he told the outlet. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n