[They are giving - or, at least, planning to give - concerts in Davies Hall
Sunday and Monday.]
'Rowdy' Russians Ordered Off Plane
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 19, 2002; Page B03
About 100 members of a Russian orchestra traveling from Amsterdam to
Los Angeles were ordered off a plane at Dulles International Airport
yesterday following crew complaints that they had been drunk and
disorderly on the first leg of the journey.
United Airlines Flight 947 sat at its gate at Dulles last night for
about 90 minutes after it was scheduled to take off for the second
leg, while airline representatives tried to impress some "rules of
conduct" upon the leaders of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, United
officials said. Ultimately, airline officials said, the pilot and
crew decided that the group was not taking United's rules seriously
and decided to remove the entire group from the flight.
"Our crew said they continued to be disruptive," said Susana Leyva,
a United spokeswoman in Chicago. "That's it for us."
Los Angeles-bound passengers taking the second leg of the trip had
waited in confusion from about 5:30 to 6:30 p.m, until the pilot
reported over the intercom that "the Russians have to be removed"
from the plane. Baggage handlers took the group's luggage and
instruments out of the cargo hold, and the plane took off about 7:10
p.m.
According to Leyva, the rowdiness of a large portion of the troupe
made the eight-hour transatlantic trip from Amsterdam to Dulles
difficult for the crew and uncomfortable for other passengers. The
group refused to sit down when told to, talked loudly and tossed
objects around, she said.
"The group was misbehaving, inebriated, opening their own bottles of
alcohol, rowdy and nonresponsive to the crew," Leyva said. "I want
to apologize to the passengers on the Amsterdam leg who had to put
up with that and the passengers on the L.A. portion who were delayed."
The St. Petersburg Philharmonic was traveling to a performance
scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, home
of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Late last night, the group was
trying to find hotel accommodations near Dulles, and its members
could not be located for comment. United officials agreed to book
the group on flights leaving for Los Angeles today but declined to
pay for its overnight stay in the Dulles area.
The orchestra was formed in 1882 and is Russia's oldest symphony
orchestra. It was known for many years as the Leningrad Philharmonic
and was once revered for its close ties with composer Dmitri
Shostakovich, until his death in 1975.
The orchestra changed its name in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet
Union. It is now led by Russian conductor Yuri Temirkanov, who is
also music director of the Baltimore Symphony.
Janos Gereben/SF
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