Violist clashes with Ryanair: 'I felt so humiliated'

marseille - French violinist Esther Abrami (27) is angry with Ryanair for not allowing her 200-year-old violin as hand luggage due to being one centimeter too long.

The 27-year-old Abrami, with almost 340,000 followers on Instagram, was supposed to fly from Marseille to Berlin earlier this month for recordings for her new album with Ryanair. However, she was stopped at the gate by the budget airline's staff.

Abrami was told her (200-year-old) violin couldn't be taken as hand luggage as the instrument was 56 centimeters large, one centimeter over the allowed size. She offered to pay extra, regardless of the price, but that did not help. She offered to buy an extra seat, but they said the flight was full, even though it wasn't. She offered to take her violin out of the case and keep it with her at all times... I begged and said I had flown with Ryanair countless times before without any issue. Nothing worked.

Leaving her violin behind was her only option, she was told, to check the instrument in between the large suitcases in the cargo hold. However, the violin was too fragile (and expensive) for that. 'They treated me like trash,' Abrami said. 'I had to step aside because I was wasting their time. This is the first time I've experienced such rudeness. I've never felt so humiliated. I had tears in my eyes.'

The Ryanair flight eventually departed without Abrami, but the violinist managed to book a last-minute ticket with another airline for the same day. 'I was incredibly lucky. Missing a flight often means missing a great opportunity. Such a silly incident can damage your reputation, simply unacceptable.'

In response, Ryanair stated that Abrami had booked the flight on July 5 and chose not to pay for an extra seat. This rule applies to instruments too big for hand luggage. 'An employee suggested putting the violin case in a protective bag in the cargo hold, but she refused. Violinists traveling with us must respect the same rules as everyone else.'