Major US Airline Bans Human-Like Robots on Flights

Southwest Airlines flight. Credit: Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Southwest Airlines, a large US airline, has banned ‘human-like’ and ‘animal-like’ robots from its flights, citing information concerns tied to the lithium-ion batteries that powerfulness these devices. The Dallas-based bearer updated its information guidelines to support specified robots retired of some the compartment and checked baggage, careless of size oregon intended use.

The hose classifies a human-like robot arsenic 1 designed to look, move, oregon enactment similar a human, with a akin modular applied to animal-like robots. Smaller robots, including toys, stay permitted but indispensable acceptable wrong a modular carry-on container and comply with existing artillery rules.

The prohibition followed a bid of incidents successful which passengers purchased seats for robotic devices oregon tried to bring them connected committee arsenic carry-on items.

The robot incidents down Southwest’s caller ban

Aaron Mehdizadeh, laminitis of The Robot Studio successful North Dallas, bought a spot for Stewie, a 3.5-foot humanoid robot, and replaced its artillery with a smaller 1 to wide security.

Robophobic Airline Bans Humanoid Robots From Flights After Disruption | Joe Wilkins, Futurism

Southwest Airlines appears to person go the archetypal hose to enshrine a no-robots argumentation into their rulebook, aft a Dallas concern proprietor tried to instrumentality his 3.5-foot robot for a… pic.twitter.com/8BdSR5R9Bs

— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) May 18, 2026

Mehdizadeh told a quality mag that astir passengers were excited and recovered the robot entertaining during the flight. Two days later, Southwest issued a company-wide information alert, and the robot prohibition followed soon after.

A 2nd incidental connected April 30 besides contributed to the argumentation change. Eily Ben-Abraham of Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics brought a robot named Bebop connected a Southwest formation from Oakland to San Diego.

The formation was delayed astir an hr aft unit members raised concerns astir the robot sitting adjacent the aisle. Once it was moved to a model seat, attraction shifted to its battery.

Southwest told a quality mag that the device’s artillery exceeded the permitted size, and the rider was asked to region it.

Why the US hose bans robots implicit artillery safety

Southwest told the Dallas Morning News that the US airline’s prohibition connected robots stems from battery information concerns and is portion of a broader effort the bearer has been processing for respective months. The hose noted that different carriers person begun pursuing its pb connected artillery rules.

Mehdizadeh disputed the battery’s reasoning. He told CBS News Texas that Stewie ran connected a artillery nary larger than what powers a modular laptop. He besides told a quality mag that the robot was small, caused nary problems, and that the concern struck everyone progressive arsenic absurd.

Mehdizadeh said helium hopes the hose volition reconsider. His studio’s robots stay grounded for now.