Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Feds fine passengers on Sunwing party flight

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Mar, 2022 02:30 PM
  • Feds fine passengers on Sunwing party flight

MONTREAL - Passengers are paying a pricey penalty for partying onboard a Sunwing flight last year that devolved into a raucous onboard soirée.

The federal Transport Department said Tuesday it issued unspecified fines against six passengers.

Videos of the charter voyage from Montreal to Cancun, Mexico, shared on social media show unmasked passengers in close proximity singing and dancing in the aisle and on seats as some clutch bottles of liquor, snap selfies and vape.

A half-dozen passengers who were not fully vaccinated when they boarded have now received penalties that could reach a maximum of $5,000 each, Transport Canada said. Under COVID-19 rules, all passengers must be fully vaccinated to board a flight departing the country.

“Certain behaviours reported in connection with the flight on Dec. 30, 2021, are unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a release. "Aviation rules must be respected by everyone, for the sake of everyone’s safety."

Transport Canada launched an investigation on Jan. 4 to determine whether travellers violated laws or regulations around aviation safety and security.

Sunwing has said in an email that passengers — some were Quebec-based social media influencers — violated aviation regulations and public health rules via “unruly behaviour,” prompting an internal probe.

The flight took off about two weeks after the federal government advised Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside of Canada.

The organizer of the controversial trip said in late January that Sunwing unfairly abandoned his group in Mexico.

James William Awad told reporters that the Toronto-based airline, along with Air Canada and Air Transat, should be “ashamed” of themselves for refusing to fly the young travellers back to Canada based on videos of the flight that circulated online.

The airlines stranded 154 Canadians in the Yucatán Peninsula without knowing whether they could afford to keep paying for hotels and food, he said.

Weeks earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the group as “idiots” and barbarians.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2022.

MORE National ARTICLES

Illegal drug dispensary operates as a tattoo studio shut down after allegedly selling to youth

Illegal drug dispensary operates as a tattoo studio shut down after allegedly selling to youth
Officers seized cannabis products, magic mushrooms (psilocybin), and suspected MDMA. The dispensary has now been shut down. While cannabis is legal to purchase and consume in Canada, there are strict regulations in place, including where products can be purchased. 

Illegal drug dispensary operates as a tattoo studio shut down after allegedly selling to youth

Serious Collision in South Surrey leads to road closures

Serious Collision in South Surrey leads to road closures
Due to the serious nature of the collision 184 Street is closed in both directions between 40 Avenue and 32 Avenue while police investigate the cause of the collision. The investigation is in the early stages and it is unknown how long road closures will remain in effect.

Serious Collision in South Surrey leads to road closures

Fed's Powell: Russia's war on Ukraine will worsen inflation

Fed's Powell: Russia's war on Ukraine will worsen inflation
Consumer prices are already rising at their fastest pace in four decades, having jumped 7.5% in January compared with 12 months earlier. Gas prices, a key driver of that increase, have soared 40% over the past year. 

Fed's Powell: Russia's war on Ukraine will worsen inflation

Federal government warns Canadians against fighting for Russia in Ukraine

Federal government warns Canadians against fighting for Russia in Ukraine
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the warning to anyone contemplating joining the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on Thursday as she announced more Canadian sanctions on Moscow and support for Kyiv in response to that attack.

Federal government warns Canadians against fighting for Russia in Ukraine

Industry demands end to COVID-19 travel testing as eased restrictions take effect

Industry demands end to COVID-19 travel testing as eased restrictions take effect
At a Monday news conference at the Calgary airport hosted by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, WestJet communications vice-president Richard Bartrem said the carrier's flight volume remains at half of its 2019 level of roughly 700 trips per day.

Industry demands end to COVID-19 travel testing as eased restrictions take effect

Man sentenced to 25 years for child sexual abuse

Man sentenced to 25 years for child sexual abuse
The Seattle Times reports Brandan L. Wilkins pleaded guilty in February 2021 to enticing a minor, traveling with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor and possessing and receiving child pornography. Wilkins was a Transit Security Administration agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and has been in custody since his arrest in 2018.

Man sentenced to 25 years for child sexual abuse