This holiday season, several U.S. airlines are banning self-balancing scooters known as hoverboards. Delta, United Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are among the carriers that have banned hoverboards from travel.
According to an NBC News article, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received “at least 10” reports of fires caused by hoverboards. Issues with the batteries have created a major safety threat to airlines due to the board’s batteries catching fire or even exploding.
Southwest Airlines recently released a statement regarding the lithium-ion batteries used in hoverboards that said, “… effective Saturday, December 12, 2015, Southwest Airlines will not transport hoverboards (and similar devices) in either checked luggage or as a carryon item.”
While the airline knows this will be an inconvenience for some travelers, it added “the Safety of our Customers and Employees must always come first.”
For FGCU students, these modes of transportation are banned under the covered walkways, and violators may be subject to a traffic infraction with a fine of $30.
Policy 3.038 (Sec. IV, A), of the FGCU Policy Manual, states that personal transportation devices – bicycles, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades or skates, Segways or other methods by which a person moves across University premises other than by walking  – are prohibited.
According to The Verge article, Amazon has banned some retailers from selling hoverboards. Popular retailers Phunkeeduck and Swagway are two of the many listings of boards that have been taken off of Amazon’s Best Reviews, brands of boards tend to be cheaper, and Amazon is working to weed out the boards with the technical issues in order to make consumer purchases safer.