Here’s a new one for the travel files. A humanoid robot named “Bebop” caused an hour-long delay on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to San Diego in California.
The Southwest Airlines flight was supposed to take off from Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport for San Diego at 2 p.m. last week. However, the flight was delayed, as the pilot explained on the intercom, they were being held on the tarmac because of an “unusual passenger.”
Bebop, a 4-foot-tall, 70-pound humanoid robot, was on the plane legally. His handler, Eily Ben-Abraham of Elite Event Robotics, had purchased a ticket for the robot, so that wasn’t the problem. (Though it does bring up the question of how a robot was able to purchase a plane ticket.) Southwest Airlines spokesperson Lynn Lunsford confirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle that Bebop was a valid passenger.
Unfortunately, Bebop being in an aisle seat violated Southwest Airlines’ policy for large carry-on items. So Bebop was moved to a window seat. Problem solved? Not quite.
There was still one issue with the robot that was causing a delay
“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 told ABC 7 News.
“The device’s lithium battery exceeded the maximum allowable size, so the customer was asked to remove it,” Lunsford said in a statement. “We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew in addressing the situation.”
The flight eventually took off at 3:02 p.m. “You have to be open to any new adventure when you travel these days,” Cathy Brown, a passenger sitting across the aisle from Bebop, told the Chronicle.
Despite the flight issues, Bebop made it to a scheduled appearance on Sunday at Digestive Disease Week at McCormick Place in Chicago. Elite Event Robotics shipped new batteries overnight so the robot could perform at the show.