A virtuoso violinist had to take an eight hour bus after he was stopped from carrying his immensely valuable instrument onto a plane.
Janusz Wawrowski from Konin, Poland was carrying an original Stradivarius violin when he was denied boarding on a LOT Polish Airlines flight.
The musician had declined to check the 337-year-old violin in the luggage hold, wanting to keep the instrument by his side at all time.
Considering it was valued at over £4.15million, we can understand why.
Janusz was traveling from Vilnius International Airport following a performance with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra at the time.
Airline officials told him he would not be able to get onto the aircraft with the violin.
He is the only person allowed to carry the violin under the contract of his ownership of it.
The musician told Simple Flying that ground staff at the airport said he'd have to put the violin in the hold or stay in Vilnius.
The current guidance on the LOT website states passengers are allowed to bring one carry-on baggage up to 8 kg with a total dimension not longer than 118 cm.
The violin in its carrying case weighs 6kg and is 118centimetres long, Wawrowski said.
As Janusz was not able to come to a resolution with the airline he returned home to Warsaw on a bus - a journey of approximately eight hours.
“I was quite shocked at first,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I even hoped for a moment that maybe it was a grim joke, because the airport was empty and not many people were travelling that day, so I completely did not expect such problems.
"When it turned out that indeed the airport staff would not allow me on board with my violin, I was devastated.
The violin was made by master instrument Antonio Stradivari in 1685, and is one of the most valuable in the world.
It was bought by an anonymous donor and gifted to Poland in 2018, to mark the country's 100th year of independence.
"This Stradivarius is much more than a wonderful violin, it could become the ambassador of our music in the world. Its story and amazing sound attract attention immediately, whenever I mention it and wherever it appears," Janusz told Simple Flying.
The musician said the airline later contacted him to say that violins are allowed aboard its planes, and that the information on its website regarding this has been updated.
They apologised and said all staff would be sent a note on the policy, before refunding the cost of the plane and bus ticket.
LOT Polish Airlines has been contacted for comment.
