Watching a movie or listening to music is how most passengers pass the time on a flight.
However, this can be a pathway to a flashpoint — if headphones or earbuds aren’t removed during interactions with flight attendants.
Indeed, a passenger took to Reddit recently to claim that a Delta flight attendant on a flight from Salt Lake City to Austin refused to serve anyone unless they had removed their headphones.
“Not even a one-ear situation. Full removal,” they wrote. “I popped my headphone off my ear on the side closest to him and he literally ignored me while serving my row.
“It seems a weird thing to make a fuss over.”
However, Jay Robert — who has worked as a senior cabin crew member for Emirates and runs the popular Fly Guy’s Cabin Crew Lounge network — told The Independent that “passengers wearing headsets while we’re trying to take their orders is a major pet peeve for cabin crew.”
So, what are the dos and don’ts?
Etiquette experts have weighed in on the subject.
Diane Gottsman, from The Protocol School of Texas, said that the protocol for headphones on planes is clear.
She told The Independent: “When you are talking to another person, you remove your headphones to give them your full attention.
“It’s a matter of showing respect to the person you are speaking with, whether it’s a flight attendant or someone sitting across the table from you at a restaurant. If you are conducting a conversation, the earbuds or headphones should come off.”
There are exceptions to the rule, though.
Diane continued: “If you were on a flight, and a flight attendant comes by with the beverage cart to offer you a soda, removing one earbud to answer a question is perfectly fine, as that involves a three-second interaction.”
But Nick Leighton, co-host of the weekly podcast Were You Raised By Wolves?, warned that a “one ear” scenario could be misread.
He told The Independent: “Giving a flight attendant just one ear doesn’t always send the signal that you’re giving them your full attention, especially if you haven’t paused the thing you’re watching or listening to.”
And if you’re not interested in a beverage or snack?
There’s no need to remove headphones, but with flight attendants trained to make eye contact, it’s “courteous to look up and signal acknowledgement that you don’t want one”, remarked Diane.
Delta Air Lines would appear to accept that removing an earbud is perfectly fine, as the Reddit passenger claimed that after complaining, the airline’s customer service team awarded them 3,000 SkyMiles and revealed that the flight attendant who refused to serve them had been spoken to “by the in-flight leadership team”.
A Delta spokesperson commented: “While we can’t confirm the claims made in the post, our flight attendants are committed to delivering safe, comfortable and respectful service for all customers.”
