In addition to bowling pins and Magic 8 Balls, you can add cellos to the no-fly list. British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was heading to Canada to perform when his iconic cello was flagged by Air Canada. He even bought a separate ticket for the cello, which might be the best part of this story.
Trying to figure out what can and cannot accompany you on a flight is perhaps the greatest guessing game in the world. I mean, can anyone actually recite the full list of items not allowed on planes? I know I always end up having something in my backpack that ends up in one of the conveniently placed trash cans along the security line.
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Could you imagine walking up to grab the window seat and in your row is a famous cellist and his $3 million cello? Air Canada does say on its website that customers can buy seats for their instruments with height restrictions and that the rules can vary depending on other factors, including other instruments on the flight.
Naturally, Kanneh-Mason shared a lengthy excerpt about the ordeal on social media, as he was obviously not happy having to cancel a show he was unable to get to. He wrote that he spent nine hours at the airport only to learn that it “wasn’t going to be possible” to make it to Toronto.
“We can only dream of a time when all airlines have a standardized, globally, and carefully considered approach to the carriage of precious instruments that are booked to travel in the cabin,” he continued.
It also sounds like this isn’t the first time his cello has been flagged.
I may not be fluent in traveling with instruments, but I can certainly agree that there needs to be more clarity on what is and isn’t allowed on flights, because quite frankly it only adds frustration to the entire experience.
Let’s fix that first, and then we can discuss what to do with the people who stand up the second the plane lands.