Woman claims Scoot refused to compensate for broken surfboards, airline investigating

A woman has taken to social media to express her frustration at Scoot allegedly refusing compensation for two surfboards damaged during a flight.

In an Instagram post on Saturday (July 11), the traveller, whose account handle is Karliehuang33, said she had checked in a longboard and a mid-length surfboard on her flight from Hainan to Phuket.

She said both surfboards were stored in a protective surfboard bag and tagged as "fragile" by airport staff before departure.

However, upon arriving in Thailand, she said both surfboards had been broken in half, describing the damage as "total structural destruction" and saying that they were beyond repair.

Images also show her damaged board bags, which she claimed were caused by baggage handling staff despite her taking precautions to protect the surfboards.

"Extremely frustrated and disappointed with the irresponsible baggage handling and zero customer accountability from Scoot Airlines," she wrote. 

The two surfboards were reportedly worth around $3,645. 

Disrupted schedule, resulted in financial loss

The woman alleged that when she raised the issue with Scoot ground staff, they denied liability for the damage and declined compensating her, citing a limited release form that she had signed before the flight.

She disputed this, claiming that such forms generally apply to minor wear and tear during normal baggage handling and should not cover severe structural damage.

"These are essential equipment and this irreparable damage has fully disrupted my travelling schedule in Phuket and later in Indonesia, resulting in direct financial loss," she said. 

"I am extremely angry and helpless with this whole experience. Violent baggage handling that breaks surfboards in half is never a normal travel risk, and the airline must take full responsibility for its staff's negligence."

A Scoot spokesperson responded to local media that the airline is aware of the incident and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

The spokesperson declined to provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation, but said the airline's customer service team has been in touch with the woman. 

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com