Violin refused onboard PLAY Airlines flight

Read more news stories here

Icelandic violinist Pétur Björnsson was due to travel today with PLAY Airlines from Keflavík, Iceland, to Berlin, Germany. However, he was denied boarding with his instrument on account of not having bought a seat for it in advance. Despite the flight being ‘far from full’, as Björnsson described it, he was not able to purchase a seat even at full price.

Björnsson ultimately sent the violin with a colleague, who was flying with Icelandair. ‘There’s a certain amount of understanding there,’ he remarked.

PLAY is a low-cost Icelandic airline, which commenced operations in 2021. Björnsson subsequently uploaded photographs of the empty overhead lockers and vacant seats on his PLAY flight.

‘Since I started flying through Keflavík Airport, I’ve never had anything like it,’ he said in a social media post. ‘If this isn’t bullying towards one profession, I don’t know what is.’

Playing

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Teaching

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.