AirPods on the plane - what to watch out for on air travel

Airlines are known to strictly discourage wireless connections in the cabin. The reason for this is that it avoids any interference with in-flight technology. Learn what you need to be aware of if you want to use your wireless AirPods on a plane.

Wireless connections during flight

Generally, using AirPods on a plane is allowed with some restrictions - unless the airline you're traveling with has different rules. If you want to find out what is allowed before the flight, you can find relevant information on the airline's website. On the plane itself, listen to the instructions of the flight attendants in any case.

• At takeoff and landing, smartphones, laptops and other electrical devices must be switched to airplane mode. If this mode is active, cellular, WLAN, GPS and all other radio connections of the device are switched off. If your device does not have such a special mode, it must be turned off.
• The Bluetooth connection is also turned off when you activate the airplane mode, but does not directly count as a prohibited radio connection. After activating the airplane mode, you can manually turn the connection back on.
• If the cruising altitude is reached, most airlines allow you to deactivate the airplane mode.

Cables instead of Bluetooth

Instead of wireless headphones, which are paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth, you can also use normal wired headphones for the flight. Some Bluetooth headphones can also be connected via jack cable in addition to the wireless connection.