- Southwest flight delayed over an hour due to 70-pound robot passenger Bebop
- Robot's lithium battery exceeded airline's legal size limit and was confiscated
- Robot's transport case too heavy, so team bought it a separate seat for flight
A Southwest Airlines flight in the US was delayed by over an hour after an unusual and non-sentient passenger boarded the aircraft. Bebop, a 70-pound humanoid robot, was travelling for work from Oakland, California, to San Diego when it became the focus of questions and safety checks before departure. Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics team bought the robot its own seat after its transport case was deemed too heavy for checked baggage.
While Bebop was strapped in, flight attendants started asking questions about the robot's lithium batteries, which were eventually deemed over the legal size limit and confiscated.
“Then, they come and start asking, ‘What kind of batteries does it have? What's going on with this? X, Y, and Z.' They want to see it,” Eily Ben-Abraham with Elite Event Robotics was quoted as saying by ABC7.
“Meanwhile, I'm watching his flight, and I keep seeing online: ‘runway delay,'” said Chana Ben-Abraham with Elite Event Robotics.
In a statement, Southwest Airlines said Bebop's lithium battery exceeded the airline's maximum allowable size, which caused the delay. The company said it is now working to recover the battery before its next scheduled appearance.
As the news went viral, social media users pointed out that the team behind the robot may have intentionally brought it on the flight to gain some free publicity.
"I would lose my mind if a robot got a first class seat," said one user, while another added: "First they took our jobs, now they take the centre armrest!?"
A third commented: "Just a publicity stunt. They had a way to transport this robot before today that didn't require a seat. My guess is that it is easy to disassemble and transport as luggage."
A fourth said: "Your publicity stunt caused a significant delay, making the entire flight late and causing me to miss a connecting flight. This resulted in a two-hour wait and an additional $400 expense."
