Name Chosen for Key West Airport’s Coronavirus-Fighting Robot

In an online naming contest that attracted the 1,000 maximum number of entries in just six hours, Key West International Airport has a name for its coronavirus-fighting robot.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet “R2Key2.”

R2Key2 scours the Key West airport to disinfect interior spaces to help fight the virus. The new name was chosen by a committee of Florida Keys officials from a dozen finalists. The name salutes both fictional robots – R2D2 from the ‘Star Wars’ movie franchise quickly comes to mind – and the airport’s location on the Keys.

Key West International was among the United States’ first airports to implement one of the unique robots, debuting it in December of 2020. The unit emits high-intensity ultraviolet UV-C wavelength light designed to remove 99.9 percent of harmful airborne and surface pathogens. That includes the novel coronavirus.

The nearly six-foot-tall robot patrols the terminal and other interior spaces during nighttime hours after the airport closes to the public. It even plays music while making its rounds.

“While naming the robot is lighthearted in its nature, what we really are concerned about, and make a priority here in the Florida Keys, is protecting the health of our residents and our tourists,” Keys Mayor Michelle Coldiron, who helped judge submissions and is also a tourism council board member, said in a statement. “The robot is now keeping the Key West International Airport cleaner and safer for all who come through the Florida Keys.”

The winning name of R2Key2 was submitted by Chelsea Atkins of Bat Cave, North Carolina. Atkins won a Key West vacation that includes two airline certificates on JetBlue and accommodations at The Gates Hotel Key West for three nights. The prize also includes attraction passes from the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory, Historic Tours of America and Sebago Watersports.