AirPods abruptly go silent while listening to music from iPhone
This is typical of an interference between Bluetooth and other electromagnetic waves (Wi-Fi in an office or appartment environment, remote commands in every environment, wireless phones in every environment, microwave oven leaking in an office or appartment environment…).

One of the only thing you could do if at all possible is to suggest all Wi-Fi administrators around you (at least the ones who might understand) to switch on 5GHz band channels (36, 40, 44…) so as to reduce these interferences. Their networks will work better too.

This problem will increase regularly with the increase of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use everywhere. This problem will stay hard to identify and to aknowledge since the channels used by Bluetooth are changing regularly (purposefully to avoid this interference problem ).

You can limit this problem by stopping Wi-Fi within your own environnment. And moreover, to make everyone laugh, you might surround you with a light metal wire mesh the kind used to make garden fences  (avoid the aluminium screen because it's an urban legend).

Another note on the funny side, these network drop is a free nice detector that you are in an overcrowded electromagnetic waves environment.