Two British musicians who were forced to postpone a Toronto show after Air Canada refused to board their cello in the cabin are calling on airlines to create a standardized global procedure for carrying valuable instruments.
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who shot to global fame after performing at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding in 2018, and his sister, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, are in the midst of a North American tour and were scheduled to perform at Toronto’s Koerner Hall on Wednesday.
But the siblings were unable to make the sold out show after the airline denied boarding for Sheku’s cello, despite having booked a seat for it.
Addressing Toronto directly in an Instagram post on Thursday, the pair explained that after multiple delays, a cancellation, and booking onto another flight, they were unable to make the trip.
“After nine anxious hours at the airport, we realised our journey wasn’t going to be possible,” they wrote on Thursday.
The duo tagged Air Canada in the post and urged the aviation industry to establish a standardized, global approach to the transportation of precious instruments that are booked for cabin travel.
“We regret that these customers were not able to travel as expected and we will be in contact with them. Air Canada has a comprehensive policy of accepting cellos in the cabin when a separate seat is booked for it. In this case, the customers made a last minute booking due to their original flight on another airline being cancelled. We are still reviewing what happened including why the cello was not successfully rebooked,” Air Canada told Now Toronto in a statement on Friday.
Kanneh-Mason’s cello, which is on indefinite loan to him, was made in 1700 by Venetian luthier Matteo Goffriller and is worth €3 million ($4.47 million CAD), according to multiple reports.
In the meantime, the pair says they are working hard to find a new date to come to Toronto next year.
Air Canada’s website says passengers are allowed to book seats for musical instruments as long as they are no larger than 162.5 centimeters in height/length or 36 kilograms in weight. However, the number of instruments allowed onboard per flight is limited.
In a statement to CNN, Kanneh-Mason’s management at EMM Ltd/IMG Artists said this is a frequent issue that many musicians travelling with instruments face.
“It seems that we can arrange and provide all the necessary tickets, required specialist cello bookings, visas, proof of engagements and yet all too regularly there is an inconsistency of experience and training with booking systems and ground staff at airports,” it told CNN.
