Provisions within a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the next four years, that was approved by large margins in both houses of Congress earlier this month, create a uniform national policy regarding musical instruments on airplanes.

In accordance with the bill, which was approved after five years and 23 short-term extensions, any musical instrument that can be safely stored in the overhead compartment or underneath the seat may be brought on board as carry-on luggage. The FAA bill also sets standard weight and size requirements for checked instruments and permits musicians to purchase seats for oversized instruments that are too delicate to be checked.

Concerned about existing law that allowed each airline to set its own policy with respect to musical instruments, and by size requirements that varied widely for both carry-on and checked baggage, the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has been lobbying Congress to enact such a policy for nearly a decade.

“This is great news for professional musicians throughout the U.S. and Canada who carry the tools of our trade – our instruments – aboard commercial aircraft,” said AFM President Ray Hair in a prepared statement lauding passage of the FAA bill. Noting that “ending the confusion over musical instruments as carry-on baggage has been a top legislative priority” for the musicians union, he added “musicians can now fly in friendlier skies.”