The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Airport bust-up over pensioner’s precious pipes
Piper refused to allow instrument into hold – and ended up escorted by police
A Perthshire pensioner has been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket after she was thrown off a flight for refusing to be parted from her precious bagpipes.
Champion piper Jennifer Hutcheon, 67, from Bridge of Earn clashed with Ryanair staff as she returned home from Belgium after playing at the graveside of her grandfather James High Spence, 100 years to the day after his death in the First World War.
However, the emotional pilgrimage descended into farce at Charleroi Airport when she attempted to carry her pipes on board as hand luggage.
She was told she would have to place the bag containing them in the hold, something she was reluctant to do as they are valued at £1,500,
“They would be easily damaged and are valuable. I was not going to put them in the hold,” she said.
“They wouldn’t listen. They weren’t up for discussion about it. I didn’t raise my voice and tried to explain two or three times.”
Miss Hutcheon said she removed the label placed on her case by staff, which led to her boarding pass being taken away.
“The next thing is that two police officers and two soldiers with big guns are telling me to leave the queue and they marched me across the airport,” she said. “I shook hands with the police officers and the two soldiers, they looked embarrassed.”
Under the circumstances Miss Hutcheon had no option but to stay in the airport overnight with a friend, who decided to keep her company.
The next day they were able to book flights costing nearly £500, ironically with Ryanair – and encountered no problems with the hand luggage.
Ryanair claimed Miss Hutcheon’s behaviour was the reason she was turned away, something she vehemently denies.
The company spokesperson said that in line with cabin baggage policy, she was asked to place her bag in the hold as the overhead lockers were full but refused and became “disruptive”.
“Local police were called and removed the individual from the terminal,” said the spokesperson.
“The safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority and we will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time. This is now a matter for local police.”