LOT Polish Airlines has apologized to a world-famous violinist after refusing permission to take his ultra-rare Stradivarius violin onboard as hand luggage. Janusz Wawrowski was denied boarding on a LOT flight earlier this month and told he would have to check his violin into the hold.

LOT apologizes to violinist

The Polish carrier has apologized to 40-year-old violin virtuoso Janusz Wawrowski after telling him he must check his $5 million Stradivarius violin in as hold baggage. The incident occurred before a flight from Vilnius International Airport (VNO) to Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). Despite the instrument and case falling within LOT's dimension and weight threshold, LOT Polish Airlines staff informed Wawrowski that he couldn't bring his centuries-old, multi-million Stradivarius violin onto the flight as cabin baggage.

Given the value of his cargo, this was an unacceptable option for the musician. Instead, Wawrowski was forced to shell out on a bus ticket to the Polish city of Konin, where he lives. As reported in the DailyMail, the violinist has since revealed that LOT has apologized to him and clarified what happened.

Wawrowski said,

"LOT acknowledged the employee's mistake and stated that it is allowing violins onboard all of its planes and also apologized to me in the media and by letter, on email, as well as by phone."

Airline promises changes

In response to the much-publicized incident, LOT has now enacted several changes to improve the passenger experience for musicians in the future. According to Wawrowski, the airline has promised to standardize information on its website regarding musical instruments and issue information to all its employees and associates on musical instrument policy.

Wawrowski added,

"Importantly, LOT has also changed standardised information on its website as to what luggage we can bring and in musical instruments and in cabin baggage. What else is very important, LOT has promised to issue information to all its employees and associates around the world [about] how we carry the instruments in question."

Additionally, along with giving the violinist a full refund, the carrier has promised to cooperate with Wawrowski on a campaign to clarify precisely "how, where, and what instruments we carry on the plane."

Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying.

The perils of being a traveling musician

While most airlines have specific policies regarding special baggage, including musical instruments, things go wrong for musicians flying with their instruments far too often. Earlier this year, Indian singer Benny Dayal blasted Indian airlines for mishandling instruments in several incidents involving multiple domestic carriers.

Check out Simple Flying's analysis of the rules for flying with musical instruments.

Many orchestras will pay to charter an aircraft when traveling to avoid being denied carry-on rights. Simple Flying took a closer look at UK carrier policies on musical instruments on planes, noting that contacting the airline beforehand is always a good idea to avoid a messy incident during check-in.

Have you ever had problems flying with a musical instrument? Let us know your stories in the comments.

Source: DailyMail

• 

  LOT Polish Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  LO/LOT

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Warsaw Chopin Airport

  Year Founded:

  1928

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  CEO:

  Rafal Milczarski

  Country:

  Poland