Should airlines ban robots?
It started with Stewie, a three-and-a-half-foot humanoid robot. His owner bought him a seat to Dallas on Southwest, and when the robot walked through the terminal, passengers stopped to take pictures. Within days, Southwest rewrote its policy to keep human-like and animal-like robots off its aircraft, regardless of size or purpose. Delta followed in June. United followed in July. American Airlines has yet to say anything, though a position seems likely soon. So three of the big four have now decided, and each ban covers the cabin and checked bags alike. The stated concern is lithium batteries and handling, and there is a real case there: a full-size humanoid carries far more power than a laptop, and a gate agent should not have to decide in the boarding line whether a machine with limbs counts as baggage, cargo or a passenger.