Published on April 4th, 2016 | by Diogo Costa

US Airlines are Banning Hoverboards

2015 came and went, Back to the Future became past and we had many nice things that came true, while others did not. For years after the movie came out, everyone missed the hoverboard, something that every youngster dreamed to have one day. While the actual hoverboard is not here, we have the fever of other kind of hoverboards.

They are popular motorized versions, which really are nothing more than modern scooters. Some are very interesting, with direction control and everything else. But not everyone likes them: some airlines in the United States, for example, imposed a permanent ban on hoverboards.

The three major airlines in the country (United, Delta and American Airlines) paid attention to the hoverboard-related shopping frenzy and knew that the motorized skateboard is among the top gifts of the year, so they decided to ban it. But why?

Airline companies always had problems with products on their clients’ luggage where batteries are not as protected as they should, which ends up creating a risk of fire they are simply not willing to run. A great example is that, for a long time, some Japanese electronics such as PS3 and PS4 controllers could not be imported, precisely for this reason (they have built-in batteries).

The evaluation of hoverboards made by US airlines found that their batteries are not safe enough and, because of that, they decided to ban them for safety reasons, either as hand luggage or in the luggage compartment. Before the three aforementioned airlines, Alaska, Jet Blue and Hawaian Airlines had already banned hoverboards.

So, the size of batteries and their poor shielding are the factors behind the decision. And, considering these reasons, it is possible that other airlines will follow this move in the future. Still, if you are interested in getting one, there are many places where buying hoverboards is possible.

Tags: airlines, ban, hoverboards, news