Somebody say drama! Not too long ago, a video uploaded on TikTok shows an American couple being escorted off a South African flight.
And no, It wasn’t for something as suspicious as drugs, but a musical instrument that weighs a ton.
It’s clear that the musical instrument is precious to them because the couple, like a person, wanted the cello seated next to them. How convenient?
Can I take my keyboard on my next flight? We’ll have a lot to chat about on the way.
@tristanurwin All because of a Cello 🎻
♬ original sound - Tristan Urwin
I think many are aware that when you travel, certain rules are put in place for a reason. And we are well aware of what not to bring onto an aircraft. That’s why the behaviour of the couple was mind-boggling.
‘’These passengers wanted to travel with their instrument strapped in which is not something we permit for safety reasons. We offered to move it to the hold and strap it in. They refused and insisted that we fly them with the item in the chair,’’ says Kirby Gordon, chief marketing officer at FlySafair.
‘’We cannot contravene safety rules so something had to happen. Our preference was to accommodate them with the item safely stowed in the hold. Another option would have been to offload the item to have it sent another way, or the third option was for them to stay behind with the item,’’ he said.
After the flight was delayed by an hour, as indicated in the video, the only option was to have the police intervene and the man was then escorted gracefully, like a well played Cello Sonata, while the woman was recording a video. I’m not sure what she wants to do with the video, because this is just plain and simple, wrong.
People, especially musicians know that a cello needed to be checked into a special luggage component. Although the woman gave a public apology, the rest of the flight members seemed over it and just wanted to reach their destination.
Read the latest IOL Travel digital magazine here.