Andrew Newton: Move to relax rules sounds a sweet note

THE European Commission may not often put a musical spring in our step, but newly proposed legislation from Brussels might do just that.

Proposed amendments to regulation 261/2004 regarding assistance and compensation for airline passengers includes clarification over musical instruments. Ambiguity over the rules has caused headaches for travelling musicians in recent years.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, most of the big airlines introduced rules refusing to carry musical instruments in the cabin, offering instead to transport them in the hold. For a professional classical musician, whose instruments can be worth up to £500,000, this created a huge problem. Placing a highly sensitive instrument in the cold and sometimes humid conditions of a hold can do real damage.