She misses her plane by a centimeter: a violinist refused boarding because her instrument protrudes into the cabin baggage

Esther Abrami a étudié au Conservatoire Darius-Milhaud d’Aix-en-Provence, à l’École de musique de Chetham et au au Royal Collège of Music de Londres. Capture Instagram – @estherabrami

Musician Esther Abrami was denied boarding for… one centimeter. Ryanair did not accept her violin as cabin baggage because it measured 56 centimeters, instead of 55.

Esther Abrami is a classical violinist, composer and web influencer. On September 3, she shared a long post on her Instagram account expressing her incomprehension at a refusal to board a plane with her 200-year-old violin as cabin baggage, for being one centimeter too long. The artist was due to go to Berlin to record his third album, reported Radio Classique.

“Such rudeness and public humiliation”

This Aix native experienced according to her a “public humiliation”. While she was due to take a flight from Marignane airport to Marseille, Ryanair did not accept her cabin baggage because it was one centimetre too large for the authorised limit, which was 55 cm. “This is the first time I have experienced such rudeness and public humiliation”, she wrote on her post.

She explains that she tried to talk to the company, to find solutions, in vain. “I offered to buy an extra seat, I begged them, explaining that I was recording that same day for my album, I had flown this company an incredible number of times and I had never experienced this, I even offered to take my violin out of the suitcase, keeping its tissue protection and keeping it in my hand during the entire flight”.

“Missing a flight often means losing a vital job opportunity”

Esther Abrami reassures her subscribers by specifying that she was able to buy a new ticket same-day flight on another airline. But the violinist is quick to point out that not all musicians can afford to buy a new plane ticket “Not all musicians can afford this opportunity. Missing a flight often means losing a vital job opportunity”.

She ends her post by explaining that “in an industry where every opportunity counts, such an incident can have a ripple effect, affecting reputation and future prospects. This is simply unacceptable”. A week after this post, she shared a second one, explaining that other musicians had experienced the same incident.