Airline Security measures hit musicians hard

irishpiper · Post by **irishpiper** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 8:54 pm

This came out today in the news regarding musicians traveling with instruments..pipers beware!!

LONDON (AFP) - A group of top classical musicians has warned of the threat to artistic life from a hand baggage ban introduced after police foiled an alleged bomb plot against transatlantic airliners.

The issue even struck a false note at the world-renowned Last Night of the Proms concert on Saturday, with one conductor joking that next year audiences may have to put up with "Concerto for Laptop and Orchestra".

"I think it's greatly to be regretted," said Mark Elder, a guest conductor for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall. "The time has come really to put an end to this unfairness."

Many performers refuse to let their instruments, often centuries old and extremely valuable, out of their sight when they travel on planes in case they are damaged in the hold.

But now they are falling foul of strict rules introduced in August amid fears that apparently innocuous materials could be used to build and detonate bombs on flights to and from the United States.

It is not only high art which is suffering -- a spokesman for Scotland's oldest bagpipe teaching college said tourism could be hit as the regulations deter pipers from the United States and Canada from coming to competitions.

In a letter to The Times newspaper on Friday, seven artists including the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, and cellists Julian Lloyd Webber and Ralph Kirshbaum, warned that terrorists must not be allowed to threaten Britain's place in the artistic world.

"This enviable position is now under serious threat from draconian new rules that forbid any article exceeding the specified dimensions for hand luggage to be carried on planes," the letter said.

"It is now effectively impossible for musicians to travel by air, since there is no way that priceless 18th-century violins or cellos, for example, can ever travel without unacceptable risk in the hold of an aircraft."

Kirshbaum, an American, later told the BBC: "When you have an instrument, as I do, that was made in 1729, worth over three million pounds (5.6 million dollars, 4.4 million euros), you have a responsibility obviously for that but it's also our voice.

"And without that voice, we can't create our artistic world for those who we perform for."

Passengers travelling from Britain are only allowed to carry on a laptop-sized bag. However, Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said Sunday that the restrictions may soon be eased.

He has been working with British airports and airlines on the possibility of relaxing hand baggage size rules and the restrictions on taking certain liquids on board, he told Sky News television.

Further meetings are expected this week to determine whether any changes can be made.

The Musicians' Union is planning to lobby parliament over the airline security measures, calling for a dispensation on all flights to let musicians carry instruments into the cabin.

Spokesman Keith Ames said Sunday: "It is a risk putting instruments in the hold because they could get damaged -- no insurance company will cover it.

"Nobody expects a slackening in security but the fact that musical instruments... have to go into the hold means that musicians will just not fly."

Some of the best known companies and events in the arts world, including the BBC Proms, an annual two-month season of classical concerts in London, have been affected.

The Orchestra of St Luke's, from New York, pulled out of a concert shortly after the alleged plot was discovered, while soloists including Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov ditched the plane for the train to get there.

Russia's Bolshoi Theatre, which was performing in London when the restrictions came in, pledged to use the London-Paris Eurostar service because they refused to check in their instruments on an airplane.

And Willie Park, a piper at the College of Piping in Glasgow, said he knew of Russian and Japanese pipers who had posted their instruments home rather than putting them in an aeroplane hold.

"We've got pipers coming from all over the world to compete in championships and this puts people off," he said.

"Bagpipes are sensitive to temperature variation in the hold because if the wood shrinks it can split, apart from the rough handling they might get."

Stringent baggage restrictions have come in across the European Union and in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Kenya and Switzerland in the wake of the alleged plot.

Seventeen people have been charged with terrorism-related offences and 11 with conspiring to murder and preparing acts of terrorism following police raids in Britain on August 10.

glands · Post by **glands** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 10:30 pm

I had ZERO problems with hand carry of pipes on my recent US-Eire trip. Did hear that the security at Heathrow are not permitting instruments to be carried on.

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:32 am

Lewis that was US to Eire.All UK airports are a no no for instruments

that is why the classical world is up in arms.They have some clout and given there were more than a few politicians and their cronies at the Proms on Saturday there is hope yet,although I wouldnt hold my breath on anything soon.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

Richard Katz · Post by **Richard Katz** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:51 am

So what does this mean for US musicians planning on traveling to local domestic tionols?

Has anyone experienced this recently? Can we hand carry our pipes on board?

Cheers! Richard

Jim McGuire · Post by **Jim McGuire** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:58 am

All I've heard is that to/from NY will be following the most stringent security for quite some time. London is under that same policy.

Years ago, Belfast and Israel were the two toughest places to fly in/out with hand luggage.

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:21 am

I took a domestic US flight since the foiled disaster in London and had no trouble. Carried my pipes on no bother. Even played a tune on the whistle for them to prove they weren't a dismantled sniper rifle.... I think they still had their doubts though

Thank you and good night.

Paaaaaaaaaatrick.

glands · Post by **glands** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:36 am

I think they still had their doubts though

Good to see the folks at Transport and Security Administration are starting to "profile" suspicious looking passengers.

simonknight · Post by **simonknight** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:05 pm

I flew from London to Philapdelphia yesterday. Absolutely no chance of carrying on anything more than a laptop bag. I had to check my practice set - it survived OK inside a hard suitcase.

Only UK to US flights are affected. I had no problem getting it in the cabin on my outward trip from the US to the UK.

Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa · Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:08 pm

I recently traveled to ireland from New York. Departed the day the arrests were made in the UK. Were big lines and all, but had no problem carrying on my pipes. They even exceeded the dimension limit and had some ivory on them. No problem on the return either two and a half weeks later. Three of my kids also carried each of their fiddles on with no trouble. A security man running the xray machine joked about wanting to confiscate my set (for himself), but he was kidding.

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:11 am

For clarity I repeat...All UK airports are a no no for instruments that means travel from them.All other airports and their permutation thereof seem to be OK...which is absolutely

stupid ..So it is fine to carry a bomb frae say Dublin to NY but not London to NY...its either all or nothing which makes a complete nonesense of the whole debacle.That must be very reassuring for the good folks of NY City
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:50 am

Its not the music that bothers me... this is REALLY starting to impact my career as an international terrorist in a very negative way.

The second casualty of war (after truth) is (non military) culture.

Don't beleive what the namby pamby liberal intelligencia tell you... we're everywhere, EVERYWHERE I TELLS YA!!!NYAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA.....

Regards,

Harry.

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:51 am

Harry wrote:NYAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA.....

Beautiful C natural Harry

P-Diddley.

Chris Bayley · Post by **Chris Bayley** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:05 pm

Uilliam wrote

For clarity I repeat...All UK airports are a no no for instruments that means travel from them.All other airports and their permutation thereof seem to be OK...which is absolutely stupid ..So it is fine to carry a bomb frae say Dublin to NY but not London to NY...its either all or nothing which makes a complete nonesense of the whole debacle.That must be very reassuring for the good folks of NY City

Nothing changes - last year just after the London bombings was searched leaving the country for St Chartier - expected as we were in a people carrier full of gun cases. Coming back into the country - not a customs man in sight. Hope no terrorists are watching this thread !

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:54 pm

Interesting bit in a Montreal paper - local station sends a reporter and photographer to test security at Montreal airport. Passenger side is very tight and restrictive, just as the security folks want. Employee and vendor side wide open. They walk in, no id, say they are checking something technical, and employees and vendors give them complete access to restricted areas and runways. They could have poisoned all the meals on a half-dozen flights, planted bombs everywhere. Total joke.

No response from authorities yet, but large blue smoke cloud seen rising from admin section of airport.

djm

simonknight · Post by **simonknight** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:48 pm

The problem looks like it's going away for the time being. The article specifically mentions musical instruments:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5343018.stm

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Airline Security measures hit musicians hard

Airline Security measures hit musicians hard

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