Musician speaks of 'horrific' experience after he was twice denied boarding at Cork Airport

A professional musician was stopped from boarding two flights in Cork Airport with his musical instruments — forcing him to travel to Dublin Airport to leave the country.

Pablo Zapico travelled to Cork to perform at the classical music festival West Cork Music.

He flew into Cork with his two instruments — a baroque-era string instrument called a theorbo and a baroque guitar, on July 2 with KLM.

Mr Zapico performs internationally, regularly flying with his instruments and previously encountered zero problems.

He buys an extra seat for the theorbo and the smaller classical guitar can be carried as cabin baggage and stowed in the overhead compartment or it can be secured with a seatbelt to the theorbo in the extra seat he buys.

“I have travelled worldwide with my instruments for more than 20 years as a professional musician.

“The purpose of the trip was to participate in a classical music festival recognised throughout Europe and in Cork, a source of pride for local residents and a major attraction for many visitors from abroad.”

He was due to travel directly from Cork to Billund in Denmark on July 5 to perform at another concert, rather than returning to his home in Spain.

Twice denied boarding 

He was to fly with the same airline as he arrived with: KLM.

But when he reached the boarding gate, a woman working there refused to let him board the plane, saying he could not fit the two instruments on one seat.

“I explained that I had arrived in Cork with the same airline and on the same type of aircraft [...] without any problem just a few days earlier.

“The only option this woman offered me was to put one of the instruments in the hold.

“I told her this was impossible because they are extremely fragile musical instruments and, in addition, one is worth €9,000 and the other €12,000. They were also specially built for me and are replicas of Baroque instruments from the 17th and 18th centuries.”

Mr Zapico said that the woman in Cork Airport insisted that he should have purchased a seat for each instrument, but a passenger is only allowed to purchase one seat for baggage per flight with the airline.

“Because I refused to have either instrument put in the hold, I was denied boarding and my checked suitcase was unloaded.

“After being left behind, I had to buy another flight to Billund for the following day, July 6.” 

He then bought a flight with another airline, Lufthansa.

“Again, I booked two seats: one for myself and one for my instruments, exactly as I had always done, assuming that what had happened was an exceptional case.

“I made sure that the aircraft operating the flight from Cork was a larger one [...], so there would be no additional problem concerning the size of the aircraft or its seats.” 

These additional seats cost €564.42. He also had to book a nearby hotel for the night, costing an additional €163.37.

But when he arrived at Cork Airport the next day for his new flights, the same woman was at check-in.

“Despite this being a completely different airline and aircraft, the same situation repeated itself,” he said.

“The woman flatly refused to let me check in and would not listen to any reasoning.

“I called the Lufthansa offices several times, and they too could not understand why I was not being allowed to board. They even spoke to her on the phone in an attempt to persuade her. It was impossible.

“At all times, the woman refused to make any effort to help or even allow me to check in my suitcase, stating that she had already told me – and that this was her final word – that I should have bought one seat for each instrument.” 

He agreed to buy another seat for his small guitar but the airline would not permit two extra baggage seats per passenger – only one.

“So I asked her: what can I do then? I cannot remain trapped in Cork, unable to return home or continue my journey. 

“Nor could I get rid of my instruments or check them into the hold. I felt trapped in Cork, with a concert the following day, July 7, for which my colleagues needed me.

“Publicity had been done, tickets had been sold, and other musicians were travelling from Spain to join us.” 

Plan to change airport

Despite multiple phone calls and pleas, he was again refused to board the flight.

“I was, once again, left stranded in Cork, for the second time.

“The only solution my colleagues and I could think of to get me out of Cork was to change airport.” 

Mr Zapico decided to book flights from Dublin Airport instead.

“I bought Lufthansa flights again. When I called them and explained the situation, they were extremely helpful and, even though the check-in counter had already closed (although the flight had not yet departed), they agreed to change my origin from Cork to Dublin.

“Even so, the additional cost was €110.94 for the two seats, plus €65 for the checked suitcase.

“I took a bus from Cork city centre. It cost €43.20 for two seats: one for me and one for my instruments.” 

He arrived in Dublin Airport at 10pm and as his flight was very early the next morning, he tried to sleep on a bench at Burger King.

“It was a completely horrific day,” he said.

“At 4.30am, I checked in for the flight and was able to travel from Dublin to Frankfurt and from there, finally, to Billund without absolutely any problem.

“Both at check-in and during the two boarding processes, all the staff treated me exceptionally well.”

Mr Zapico made it in time to perform his concert at Hindsgavl Castle that evening and flew back to Madrid without any problems.

He described his experience in Cork Airport as “horrific” and said: “The treatment I received was extremely unpleasant, as if I were committing some kind of offence or trying to take advantage of the system. 

“I simply want to practise a profession that, I believe, should also be valued positively by our society.

“Nobody is asking to carry instruments free of charge, of course, but one extra seat should be more than sufficient for instruments that genuinely require it.”

The problems in Cork Airport cost Mr Zapico an extra €1,060.07.

But he has received no compensation for the additional money, or for the time he was forced to spend while trying to leave Ireland.

The company that handles baggage in Cork Airport, Swissport, told The Echo that: “Swissport teams operate on behalf of our airline partners and are required to comply with their cabin baggage and seating policies.” 

Cork Airport was contacted for comment and said that it cannot interfere with externally managed ground handling and airline policies.