Ryanair passenger Esther Abrami was denied boarding due to her ancient violin, leaving her surprised by the turn of events.
In an unexpected turn of events, classical music's leading light on social media, Esther Abrami, found herself in a predicament when she was denied boarding on a Ryanair flight due to her violin.
Abrami, who made her Classical debut in 2022 and was named one of our Rising Stars in 2021, was traveling from Marseille to Berlin for a recording session with Sony Classical. However, her journey took an unexpected turn when Ryanair staff deemed her 200-year-old violin too large for cabin luggage.
The incident, which occurred on 3 September, sparked a wave of outrage on social media. Abrami's Instagram post about the incident received over 900 comments as of Wednesday lunchtime. She returned to social media a week later with a statement expressing gratitude for the support she received.
In her statement, Abrami mentioned that she was never asked to buy an extra seat when traveling with Ryanair and had been traveling with them for years with her violin as hand luggage. As this flight was fully booked at the time of boarding, Abrami could not purchase an additional seat.
Ryanair's current policy on musical instruments as cabin baggage requires them to fit within the hand luggage size limits, or otherwise they must be checked in and may incur fees. This policy was first officially published alongside stricter hand luggage controls announced for November 2024.
Ryanair permits music equipment to travel on board as long as it fits within the cabin bag allowance. For smaller music equipment like guitars or violins that exceed cabin baggage dimensions, passengers can opt to pay an extra seat fare.
In response to Abrami's first post, Ryanair stated that she was not refused travel from Marseille to Berlin on 3 September. However, Abrami claims she was treated with rudeness and public humiliation during the incident.
Missing a flight can mean losing a vital work opportunity for a musician, such as a gig, a recording session, or an important meeting. Abrami was able to book a last-minute ticket on another airline after the incident.
In the wake of this incident, Abrami called on airlines to be clearer about musical instrument policies and more flexible around individual musician's requirements. She expressed that the response to her story has been "incredible" and that the subject seems to be "very painful for a lot of people".
Abrami made her Royal Albert Hall debut playing Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending at our website Live in April 2022. With over one million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, her voice is undoubtedly one that resonates with many in the classical music community. This incident serves as a reminder for airlines to consider the unique needs of musicians and artists when implementing policies.
