A Southwest Airlines passenger’s decision to fly with a humanoid robot led to the budget carrier reviewing its current policies, and the new restriction that has banned the transport of human-like devices. The recent traveler, Aaron Mehdizadeh, was traveling from Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to Dallas Love Field (DAL) and had brought his robot Stewie along for the trip.

The 3.5-foot (1.06-meter) robot is rented out by Mehdizadeh through his business, The Robot Studio, and instead of flying the robot home as cargo, the owner decided to purchase Stewie a seat through the option of adding a seat for fragile items such as music equipment or wedding dresses.

Stewie Passed All TSA Security Requirements

Credit: Denver International Airport

According to CBS News, Stewie was permitted through airport security as he was fitted with a smaller battery than usual, and then freely walked with his own through the airport to the boarding gate at Harry Reid International Airport. Stewie was met by surprise by the flight attendants on board the budget airline’s flight for its trip back to Texas.

Stewie has been spotted onboard, as shared on social media, with passengers and crew asking plenty of questions, with Mehdizadeh noting that he provided plenty of entertainment onboard. The robot, which can speak through its programmed voice, makes multiple comments and even makes its own way to its allocated window seat.

Following the trip, the airline issued a safety alert which announced the new policy, which stated that the airline would no longer permit human-like or animal-like robots in the cabin or as checked baggage, regardless of the size or purpose of the piece of equipment. This was done to ensure that the airline could comply with all lithium-ion battery safety guidelines.

Simple Flying reached out to Southwest for comment, and an airline spokesperson provided the following response:

To ensure compliance with our guidelines for traveling safely with lithium-ion batteries, Southwest clarified its baggage policy to include robotic devices.

Southwest Flights From Las Vegas To Dallas

Credit: GCMap

While Stewie caused plenty of excitement for those on board, the airline outlined that robots are no longer welcome on board. Stewie’s owner has disagreed with the new ban, stating that the battery that was used in the robot was similar to that of a laptop battery. Stewie, which also provided a fabricated response, noted that “It’s a total conspiracy, I swear they don’t want us robots peeking at the clouds, seeing what’s really up there, my dreams got clipped faster than a bad haircut.”

Southwest operates nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Dallas multiple times a day, with the total flight duration being around three hours. The airline faces direct competition on the route by hop-on jet service JSX, and indirect competition from other carriers from neighbouring Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

The banning of robots has not been stirred just from Stewie’s recent trip, but also another incident with another robot, Behop, which caused a one-hour delay to another Southwest service. This was due to an issue with the battery size, which posed a fire risk onboard.

Risks Associated With Lithium-Ion Batteries Onboard An Aircraft

Credit: Southwest Airlines

Airlines are cautious of flying with electronics when powered by lithium-ion batteries due to a significant risk of fire. These batteries can undergo a ‘thermal runaway’, which is an uncontrollable increase in temperature that could lead to fires that emit toxic fumes and be of an extremely high temperature to the point they can be difficult to rapidly extinguish.

The most common items that have this type of battery include e-cigarettes, vapes, spare batteries, laptops, smartphones and power banks, and as such cannot be placed in checked baggage, to allow cabin members to access these devices should a thermal runaway occur. Lithium batteries have the risk of failing onboard when they are crushed (likely between seats) or if they have been charged to 100% just before a flight using a faulty charger.

Southwest has added a link to its official battery policy, where it has further details on what type of robots can be brought onboard.