A young violinist has been told by Ryanair that if she wishes to fly with her instrument, she will have to buy it a £190 seat. Returning to her home in Macclesfield with her family after a holiday in Germany, 12-year-old Francesca Rijks attempted to board a Ryanair flight in Dusseldorf with her violin. On arriving at the gate, the family was told that for a little extra the valuable instrument could travel in the hold.

Harman Rijks, Francesca’s father, explained that this was not an option as the violin could be destroyed by the changes in air pressure and temperature. Placing it in the hold would also mean the insurance taken out on the expensive violin would become void.

The family then returned to check-in to purchase the extra seat, but by then the flight had departed. The Rijks family eventually made it home with easyJet, which had no problem with Francesca taking her violin onto the aircraft as hand luggage.

Mr Rijks claims that when he was booking the tickets with Ryanair, he had been told that the violin could be taken on by his daughter as hand luggage. A spokesman for Ryanair has disputed this claim, pointing out that the rules about musical instruments, and the possible need to book an extra seat when travelling with them, are very clearly laid out on the airline’s website and on its booking confirmation page.

Head of legal services at the Incorporated Society of Musicians, David Abrahams, says that airlines are punishing musicians to carry instruments on board which can safely be stowed in the overhead luggage bins, just because they are instruments.