Robot Passenger Delays Southwest Flight
Newser • • business
Key Points:
- A Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to San Diego was delayed over an hour due to a 4-foot-tall, 70-pound humanoid robot named Bebop, owned by Eily Ben-Abraham of Elite Event Robotics, who had purchased the robot its own seat.
- The delay began when crew flagged Bebop as a violation of carry-on rules, requiring it to be moved from an aisle to a window seat, and worsened when its lithium battery was found to exceed airline size limits.
- The flight was only allowed to depart after the robot's battery was removed and confiscated, causing a 62-minute delay, with the pilot citing the "unusual passenger" and airport traffic as reasons.
- Elite Event Robotics plans to continue flying Bebop commercially without batteries onboard, instead shipping power packs separately, allowing the robot to maintain scheduled appearances, such as an upcoming medical conference in Chicago.
