A famous Polish violinist was forced to take a bus home after a performance in Vilnius because airport staff refused to let him take a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin onboard.
Janusz Wawrowski was scheduled to fly home to Warsaw after performing at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic on February 5. He wanted to take his violin into the cabin, but the ground handling company, Baltic Ground Services (BGD), instructed him to put the instrument with check-in luggage.
Wawrowski refused, since the instrument, made in 1685 by the world-famous violin maker Antonius Stradivarius, is worth 5 million euros.
The musician described the unpleasant incident on Facebook.
“I wasn’t allowed to take my violin on the plane. The staff offered me two options: to put the instrument in the luggage compartment below deck or to stay in Vilnius. The LOT [Polish Airlines] employee said, ‘We’ll see if it’s damaged in the hold. My explanation that I have been travelling with my violin for years on different airlines and that I arrived in Vilnius on the same airline did not convince them. In hundreds of previous flights, I have never been forbidden to take my violin on board. The atmosphere of the whole event was very unpleasant, something I have never experienced before,” Wawrowski wrote.
He said that the man working at the ticket counter suggested that he wait for the next flight in five hours and ask the crew if they would let him on board with his violin.
According to Wawrowski, the violin case did not exceed cabin luggage size or weight allowances indicated on LOT’s website.
In the end, the violinist travelled home by bus, which takes around nine hours.
LOT offered refund
Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports), the company managing the country’s airports, told LRT.lt that passenger registration for the Warsaw flight was handled by BGS.
“Employees of Vilnius Airport (or other airports in Lithuania) do not check-in for flights themselves, this is done by ground handling companies, in this case BGS, which fulfils the requirements of the airline,” Tadas Vasiliauskas, a spokesman for Lithuanian Airports, told LRT.lt.
He also forwarded a comment from BGS.
“The passenger’s violin exceeded the airline’s requirements for hand luggage. It was measured at the airport terminal using a luggage measuring stand provided by the airline, but it did not fit within the frame. The passenger was offered the option of checking his baggage into the aircraft's hold or purchasing an extra seat in the cabin to carry expensive items that exceeded the hand luggage allowance. The passenger refused to purchase the service on the grounds that he always carries his violin with him and does not make use of additional services.
The company also said that Wawrowski did not have prior approval from the airline to take oversized hand luggage.
Representatives of LOT Airlines told LRT.lt that the company regularly cooperates with orchestras and philharmonics and helps them transport delicate instruments.
“In this particular case, an inexperienced LOT Polish Airlines handler made an incorrect decision on the basis that the violin case did not comply with the so-called baggage allowance. We deeply regret this situation. We will refund the unused part of the ticket and will do our utmost to prevent a recurrence in the future,” LOT said.
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