Man's radical move to avoid airline's $120 charge: 'That was unnecessary'
A man just about to board a plane took dramatic steps to avoid paying an $89 fee when his carry-on luggage did not meet the size requirements.
With his skateboard in hand, Shaun Hover was ready to board his plane when he was told he would have to cough up some extra cash.
"What is it, $90?" Ms Hover says in the video, to which the Spirit Airlines employee responds saying it's $89 ($A128).
The item in question is his skateboard because it didn't fit within the airline's size requirements for carry-on luggage.
"Never let @spiritairlines know your next move," he wrote in the caption of the video and what Mr Hover did next is something no one would have seen coming.
"Okay, here we go, this should do the trick," he says while putting his skateboard on the ground.
He then stomps down on the board, splitting it in two, the deck splintering at the middle as Mr Hover pulls one side up to fold it in half.
He then places the mangled board into the contraption the airline has to measure carry-on luggage.
"Alright, how's that?" he asks.
"That was unnecessary, sir," the airline worker says, sounding as though she is in shock.
It appears Mr Hover is a professional skateboarder.
Flight attendant apologises over debacle
When he was on the aircraft, a flight attendant came up to Mr Hover and gave him a packet of M&M's and some other lollies.
He said the flight attendant told him they had witnessed the ordeal at the gate and apologised to him. At the end of the video, Mr Hover retrieves his now-broken skateboard from the overhead lockers.
In just under 24 hours, the video went viral, reaching millions and receiving over one million likes on TikTok.
Many people were also not happy with the fee Mr Hover would have been slugged. One person said their carry-on always takes up more room than a skateboard.
A few people said getting a new board was "cheaper" than paying the $89. For the most part, people agreed with Mr Hover's decision to destroy his board.
"Malicious compliance, I love it!" another person said.
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Spirit Airlines does allow skateboards as carry-on luggage, however, they need to be "within Spirit's carry-on or personal item size dimensions".
The average skateboard is generally between 28 to 32 inches, however Spirit Airlines only allows carry-on to be 22 inches long.
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