70-pound robot's battery delays Southwest flight over an hour in Oakland

A 70-pound humanoid robot named Bebop caused a runway delay of more than an hour at Oakland International Airport on Thursday after Southwest Airlines confiscated its lithium battery for exceeding the carrier's maximum allowable size.

The incident, reported by ABC7 Los Angeles, illustrates the logistical friction that humanoid robots face as they move out of laboratories and into the commercial event circuit — and whether airline safety rules are ready to accommodate them.

Bebop was traveling Thursday on a Southwest flight from Oakland to San Diego to fulfill an event booking, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Before takeoff, airline and airport staff pulled the robot aside to inspect its power source.

"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," said Eily Ben-Abraham of Elite Event Robotics, the company that manages the robot.

While crews conducted the battery examination, the flight sat on the runway. Chana Ben-Abraham, also with Elite Event Robotics, said she tracked the situation from afar. "And meanwhile, I'm, like, watching his flight, and I keep seeing online, 'runway delay,'" she said.

Southwest ultimately confiscated the battery after determining it exceeded the airline's maximum allowable size. The flight departed with Bebop onboard but without its removed power supply, leaving the robot's handlers to scramble for a solution.

Bebop is booked for a Chicago event Sunday. "We're overnighting batteries to Chicago tomorrow to hopefully be able to fulfill the next event request," Chana Ben-Abraham said.

Elite Event Robotics has also adjusted the robot's weight to ease future airport travel. "At the moment, we got him under 100 pounds, so I shouldn't have to worry about actually, like, walking him through the terminals," Eily Ben-Abraham said.

As for Sunday's Chicago appearance, Chana Ben-Abraham said the show will go on. "He'll be there on Sunday," she said.