Every surfer's worst nightmare when traveling is their surfboard not being accepted by the airline. That was the recent case for one JetBlue passenger.
Jorge Sangachi, a surfer from Ecuador, shared in a Sept. 8 Instagram post that he had to throw away a surfboard after the airline rejected it at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
Sangachi did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
According to surf publication The Inertia, Sanguchi had originally bought his ticket with United Airlines, but his flight was switched to JetBlue. Both airlines have a Blue Sky partnership, meaning passengers can take advantage of each of their routes.
"We understand how important it is for customers traveling with sports equipment to know what to expect
before arriving at the airport, which is why we publish our baggage policies on our website and are available via phone and chat to answer additional questions customers may have," JetBlue said in an emailed statement.
The airline recommends passengers review its sports gear policies in advance. If an item doesn't comply with its policy, customers can make alternate arrangements.
United did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.
United has a more generous oversized sports equipment policy, including allowing multiple boards as long as the board bag's weight is under 100 pounds and less than the maximum length limits. However, JetBlue only permits one surfboard per case, as stated on its website.
Sanguchi told The Inertia he had four boards with him, although he lied to the agent that he had only two, and that the agent never personally checked the bag. Per JetBlue's policy, the surfer was told to get rid of one. It's unclear whether Sanguchi ultimately flew with his three remaining boards.
"I begged and begged, but it didn’t work," Sangachi told The Inertia. "It was horrible. We spent an hour arguing, but I still had to leave a board."
In the end, Sanguchi put his board in the garbage at the airport.
"So we have to abandon the board here in the trash can," said Sanguchi in his Instagram video. "Hopefully, a surfer has luck and can take it for free."
Flying with surfboards
Traveling with surfboards is tricky, and airlines each have their own policies that can be confusing. Delta Air Lines, for example, allows surfboards, but the outside dimensions can't exceed 115 linear inches – that's not just how long the board is but the sum of the length, width and height.
In 2025, professional surfer Joel Tudor shared publicly how his longboards weren't allowed on a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Oahu, prompting the airline to change its policy to accommodate boards up to 10 feet.
Even if surfboards are flown, they're often subject to rough handling, and surfers open their bags to reveal dings, cracks and boards sometimes snapped in half.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A surfboard ended up in the trash after an airline dispute
