Hoverboards Are Having a Terrible Holiday Season

Hoverboards are not having a great week. The gadgets—which, the pedant must note, glide on wheels and do not hover at all—were popularized by the likes of Wiz Khalifa and Justin Bieber, and have become one of the most requested gifts of the season. But on Friday, Delta, United, and American Airlines all announced that the boards are banned from their flights, in checked and carry-on luggage.

At issue here are the hoverboards’ tendencies to spontaneously combust. Many hoverboards are powered by cheap lithium-ion batteries. Any lithium-ion battery contains highly flammable parts, but cheap ones are particularly susceptible to short circuiting. When disrupted—banged, tossed or accidentally smashed into curbs—the batteries can overheat and explode.