Passengers on Sunwing party plane could face jail time, thousands in fines
CBC
A group of Quebec influencers and reality show stars could be facing thousands of dollars in fines, after videos surfaced showing them partying without masks on board a Sunwing flight to Cancun.
Images from the Dec. 30 flight showed passengers ignoring public health measures, jumping and dancing in the aisle, vaping and openly passing around a bottle of hard liquor on the plane. In one video, someone could be seen crowd-surfing while the plane was in the air.
The federal government released a statement Tuesday, saying the departments of Transport, Public Safety and Health have all launched investigations into the incident.
There could be fines of up to $5,000 from Transport Canada for each offence on board, it said.
Additional fines and even jail time could follow if passengers were found to be endangering others, or if they provide falsified information upon their return to Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he was "extremely frustrated" seeing the videos.
"It is a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible," he said.
He said Transport Canada is taking the situation "extremely seriously" and would be continuing its investigation.
CBC News reached out to several of the people seen on board the flight, but has not yet received a response.
The plane was privately chartered by 111 Private Club, a promoter who organized the six-day, all-inclusive event in Cancun.
James William Awad, who operates the company, tweeted Tuesday that the group "respected all instructions given by Sunwing" and that the alcohol was sold to them on board, calling the event a "success."
111 Private Club had claimed the plane would have a DJ in its advertising for the event.
Sunwing said it notified Transport Canada after holding its own investigation, saying "the behaviour of a group of passengers was unruly and contravened several [regulations]."
The group was scheduled to return to Montreal today. Sunwing said it reached out to the organizers with terms and conditions for them to board.
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