Alaska Air, Delta ban hoverboards, citing fire danger

Hoverboards may be gaining popularity as Christmas presents this year, but they’re falling out of favor with an increasing number of big airlines.

The ban comes at the start of the holiday season, when air passengers may be packing hoverboards as gifts.

“In some models, we’ve found that the batteries claimed to be under the legal limit, but upon examination, they actually exceeded what the FAA allows on a plane”, Alaska added.

The ban will be effective starting Friday, the company said.

The UN aviation safety arm ICAO has proposed that when lithium ion batteries are transported as cargo, they should be no more than 30-percent charged to reduce fire risk.

Both airlines said they were banning the self-balancing scooter because of reports that the lithium-ion batteries that power hoverboards may overheat or catch fire.

American spokesman Casey Norton cited an ongoing investigation into hoverboards by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

But hoverboard explosions have become so frequent that the National Association of State Fire Marshals had to warn the country about them.

Officials said poorly labeled, powerful lithium-ion batteries powering the hoverboards are the issue.

The airline also took the opportunity to remind passengers that spare batteries must be packed in carry-on baggage, and each traveler can carry no more than two. United, American and Southwest allow them with restrictions – typically the battery cannot be in checked luggage – but that could change soon, the way things are going.