Passengers who were filmed partying without masks aboard a Sunwing Airlines charter flight from Montreal to Mexico last week have become outcasts and now face being stranded after two more airlines announced Wednesday that they will not be taking them out. return to Canada.
Following Sunwing’s cancellation of the charter flight back from Cancun scheduled for Wednesday, Air Transat and Air Canada said they will refuse to carry the passengers, whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “idiots” on Wednesday.
Air Transat said on Twitter that the “disruptive passengers” on the Sunwing flight had been trying to get back home on their flights, but were denied boarding based on the company’s obligation to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
Air Canada issued a statement saying that “to the extent that we can identify the passengers who were part of the group, Air Canada denies boarding to ensure the safety of other passengers and their crew.”
Among those looking for a way home is Rebecca St-Pierre, a 19-year-old student from Trois-Rivières, Que., Who said she feels abandoned, not knowing how she will pay for her hotel room as her stay lengthens. indefinitely. She said she tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and is now isolated in Tulum, south of Cancun. She estimated that about 30 others on the flight tested positive.
“The organizer just left everyone. I don’t know who’s still here. All flights have been canceled,” St-Pierre told The Canadian Press excitedly.
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St-Pierre said he won the free ride in a contest on Instagram and had never heard of the organizer before, who identifies himself on social media as James William Awad. “I was looking forward to a relaxing week, in which I was going to be careful,” he said. “But this turns out to be an expensive trip for something that was supposed to be free.”
Videos of the December 30 flight shared on social media show passengers without masks as they gather closely together, singing and dancing in the aisle and on the seats. In one video, a large bottle of vodka appears to be passed between passengers, and then a woman appears to be smoking an electronic cigarette.
St-Pierre acknowledged that the videos give an accurate picture of what happened during the five-hour flight to Cancun.
Airlines will not be taking passengers from Quebec home from the #Sunwing party flight to Mexico. #CDNPoli # Covid19
“There was no social distancing … I think people were using drugs,” St-Pierre said. She said that before the scheduled return trip, some people were putting petroleum jelly on their noses in an attempt to thwart testing for COVID-19.
Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino issued a joint statement Tuesday night saying they had ordered their departments to investigate.
The statement said passengers who violate Department of Transportation regulations could face fines of up to $ 5,000 per violation. It also warned that anyone who provides false information to a Canadian government official could face fines of up to $ 750,000, six months in jail, or both.
An aviation expert said he hopes the Department of Transportation investigation will shed light on why the pilot did not request an emergency landing after the crew lost control of the passengers.
“We live in a world where pseudo-influencers believe they are above all else, but an airplane 30,000 feet above the ground can be extremely dangerous,” said Mehran Ebrahimi, who heads an aerospace industry research unit at the Université. du Québec à Montréal.
“Imagine if people decided, for fun, to play with the door. An airplane is not a cabin that you rent where you can do whatever you want.”
Awad wrote on Twitter Wednesday that a “simple party” on a plane was behind the controversy. “I’ll take a moment to sit down and rethink everything,” he said. “Especially how can I do better next time.”
Awad, who operates the 111 Private Club, organized the trip with a group of social media “influencers” and reality TV stars, such as Karl Sabourin from the popular Quebec show “Occupation Double”, and Sandrine Séguin and Anna-Maëlle Laprise, who appeared in the province’s version of “Love Island.”
Trudeau called the behavior of the passengers irresponsible and a “slap in the face” to all those who have been following the public health restrictions. In French, he referred to the passengers as “idiots” and “barbarians.”
“Like all Canadians who have seen the videos, I am extremely frustrated,” Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa.
This Canadian Press report was first published on January 5, 2022.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com