Violinist Misses Flight After Ryanair Insists Violin is "Too Large" for Cabin

Mihaela Martin was told that her 1748 Guadagnini would need to be checked in

Violinist and pedagogue Mihaela Martin was denied entry to a Ryanair flight after airline staff informed her that her violin was too large to be taken into the cabin. Flight attendants insisted that Martin should check her 1748 Guadagnini into the hold, further alleging that violins are never allowed in the cabin.

After refusing to check the instrument in, Martin then inquired as to whether she could pay an excess baggage cost in order to take the violin onboard, and this request was denied.

The airline was unable to resolve the issue, and therefore Martin opted to return to her hotel in Bucharest instead of boarding the flight.

A member of the Michelangelo String Quartet, Martin is also a professor at the University of Music in Cologne, at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, and at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

"I explained that violins are never checked in and offered to buy [one] more ticket," Martin said.

The flight attendant allegedly replied that "violins are never taken onboard...they are never allowed in the cabin" and that he would be "sacked if he doesn’t go by the book."