Airline completely destroys precious 17th-century string instrument

The instrument’s owner made a complaint about the damage on Facebook, which the airline subsequently deleted.

The owner of a Lewis viola da gamba has published images on Facebook of her broken instrument, which was smashed during a flight with Italian airline Alitalia.

Myrna Herzog, who is a member of Phoenix Early Music Society, was given a document at the end of her trip informing her that the 17th-century instrument was broken. The damage came after Alitalia promised to only handle the instrument by hand.

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Myrna is urging people to share her post on Facebook:

Cellist prevented from boarding a flight because her cello ‘needed a visa’

She later posted a second set of images, showing the instrument before and after the flight, along with the document she was given on landing:

If you are worried about travelling with your instrument, read our guide to taking musical instruments on planes.