It appears that some of the passengers on board the controversial Sunwing “party flight” to Mexico are back on Canadian soil.
CTV News Montreal reports that roughly a dozen passengers managed to arrive in Montreal Wednesday night from Cancun. The network said passengers refused to answer questions from journalists who were waiting for them outside the terminal.
Video footage of a Sunwing flight from Montreal to Cancun on December 30 showed reality television stars and Quebec social media influencers whooping it up and dancing in the aisles mid-flight. Many passengers were not wearing masks, while at least one person was vaping. One passenger had a bottle labelled as Grey Goose vodka.
The CBC reports that the plane was privately chartered by a company called 111 Private Club, “a promoter that organized the six-day, all-inclusive event in Cancun. In its advertising for the event, the promoter had claimed the plane would have a DJ.”
The CBC said the company owner is James William Awad. A tweet from James Willam Awad on Tuesday said “The 111 private club respected all instructions given by Sunwing. Alcohol was sold to my group throughout the whole flight. My group is A1.”
In a follow-up tweet yesterday, Awad said the following: “I take this matter very seriously. A simple party on a plane did all this buzz. I will take a moment to sit down and re think everything. Especially how I can do things better next time. Give me a moment to understand the situation better.”
Awad released a statement today that talked about how a proposed Sunwing flight back to Montreal fell through. But he didn’t directly address the party issue.
“As I thoroughly reviewed the current situation, I understand why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation,” he wrote in a blog post.
Awad also said he’s working to get Canadians back home.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly condemned the passengers on Wednesday, saying they’ll be investigated by government authorities and that their behaviour is a “slap in the face” to law-abiding Canadians. He also called the offending passengers “idiots.”
Sunwing said it would not fly the passengers back to Montreal. Air Transat followed suit.
Air Canada made the following statement to CTV News on Wednesday: “With the information we currently have regarding the events that took place on the Sunwing flight, and to the extent that we can identify the passengers who were part of the group, Air Canada is denying boarding to ensure the safety of other passengers and its crew.”
The government of Canada website says a person found guilty of endangering the lives of others and causing harm could face up to three years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.
Rena Kisfalvi, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local that represents about 1,000 Sunwing flight attendants, called for strict consequences, the CBC reports.
“These passengers who do not comply [with regulations], will they be charged? Will they be denied boarding in the future? Are they being placed on a no-fly list?” she asked. “Maybe we, as a government, need to take this step to tell the travelling public: ‘look, we’re serious here.'”
