It seems that Southwest Airlines has adopted a similar policy as the Mos Eisley Cantina when it comes to droids: “We don’t want them here.” A recently released policy spells this out in no uncertain terms.
Southwest Airlines does not allow human-like or animal-like robots to be transported in the cabin or as checked baggage, regardless of size or purpose.
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All other robots, including toys, must be able to fit within a carry-on size bag and comply with existing battery restrictions.
This sudden policy announcement came after Aaron Mehdizadeh of the Robot Studio brought one of his robots, Stewie, on a Southwest flight, according to People. He even bought Stewie a ticket, and belted it into its own seat. In viral videos, airport security loved it, but flight attendants didn’t know what to do with the mechanical passenger. Its lithium-ion battery was a legitimate concern, but Mehdizadeh had a special, smaller battery made specifically to comply with FAA regulations, reports FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth. While he and Stewie were allowed to make the flight, Southwest, which had already gotten rid of everything we loved about it, published its new policy just days afterward that bans both humanoid and animal-like robots, likely to avoid the possibility of an ominous gang of evil dancing robot dogs on future flights.
‘We don’t serve their kind here’
There are two sides to this story, and I can see both of them. One side is that robots can be fun, and the videos show Stewie dancing, giving people high-fives, and otherwise amusing and entertaining everyone around it, including TSA and airport security. Stewie walked obediently to its seat, got belted in, and was not a nuisance to others during the flight, which is more than can be said for some human passengers.
However, in a statement to People, Southwest said that its main concern was “the size of lithium-ion batteries used to power [robots] and the risk they pose during flight.” Mehdizadeh went out of his way to equip Stewie with a safe battery, but it may be fair to say this is something the average passenger likely would not do. Comments on FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth’s video also share this concern about batteries. Some worry that items hidden inside the robot may slip through security checks. R2-D2 carried Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber undetected onto Jabba the Hutt’s Sail Barge, so it could happen.
Others are concerned that the robot itself could suddenly engage in behavior that endangers the flight, whether through an innocent software glitch or intentional programming. As unlikely as it is that a robot like Stewie could suddenly go rogue and storm the cockpit, that chance is also not zero. So for now, your robots will have to wait outside with the other droids while you try to find a ride to Alderaan.
