But they can’t always bring their instruments… The Musicians’ Union is supporting a petition to coincide with an EU review of air
passengers’ rights. The petition seeks to gain acknowledgement of the difficulties faced by musicians when travelling abroad for gigs. It states that:
“Professional musicians who need to travel on planes with their instrument to execute their job are faced with unpredictable, often unfair treatment by Airlines Companies. As not being allowed to go on board with one’s instrument generally means not travelling at all, such situations generally result in lost job opportunities.”
Because we like to name drop, and we know you enjoy our celebrity interviews so much, we caught up with Jethro Tull drummer Scott Hammond to find out why he is supporting the petition. He told us:
“Musicians are always having trouble taking their instruments on planes, with different rules for different airlines, which are often at the discretion of the staff on the day. Checking in instruments can often mean expensive and delicate instruments get broken so this is not always a viable option. Please sign this petition to help prevent musicians having to rely on the luck of the draw. It never affects me because I use rented drums abroad (too expensive to fly them)… but I know it’s a common problem full of grey areas and musicians have been known to not be able to fly because of it after arriving for their flight.”
Whilst he didn’t add anything about how much he likes badgers, we have a feeling that he is also in favour of Meles Meles, and are sure, had we asked him to comment on who his favourite badger ever was, it would have come out in our favour.
Moving on, you can find out more and sign the petition here.
