Russell Crowe rants about Virgin Australia over hoverboard refusal
Hollywood tough guy Russell Crowe has vowed never to fly with Virgin Australia again after the airline refused to carry his sons’ hoverboards.
The actor was attempting to check in for a flight to Coffs harbour at Sydney Airport when the offending items – which several airlines say pose a fire risk – were discovered in checked baggage.
Crowe, who is famous for his short fuse, took to Twitter to vent against the airline.
“Ridiculous @VirginAustralia. No Segway boards as luggage? Too late to tell us at airport. Kids and I offloaded. Goodbye Virgin. Never again,” he posted. ‘I’m a father with two kids at an airport, trying to start our holiday.”
The airline immediately responded, tweeting: “Hi Russell, due to safety concerns over the lithium ion batteries in hoverboards, these have been banned on all major Australian airlines and many around the world.”
“We’re sorry you were not aware of this prior to check-in today. We hope to see you on board again soon.”
However, this did little to pacify Crowe who asked where the airline’s ‘duty of responsibility was in this’ and why he wasn’t informed when making the booking.
Hoverboards have been banned by many major airlines globally, and this month Amazon pulled them from its online store after safety concerns.
The worries stem from the batteries used to power the gadgets which are prone to overheating and can ignite.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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