The party isn't over: 12 new fines handed to Sunwing revellers

Journal de Montréal | Debbie Ann Powell/Shutterstock

The party isn’t over for passengers of the now-infamous Sunwing party plane.

A week ago, Transport Canada announced six passengers on the December 30 rowdy flight from Montreal to Cancun had been fined up to $5,000 for not wearing masks and not complying with federal COVID-19 vaccine flying rules.

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On Monday, Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport, announced that a dozen more passengers on the plane have been penalized.

The minister says seven passengers were fined for non-compliance with vaccine rules and five for not wearing face masks while in flight.

Alghabra says 24 infractions have been issued since the media frenzy in January and that there are “more to come.”

Passengers on the December 30 MTL-Cancun flight continue to face the consequences of their actions with 12 new penalties issued. 7 for non-compliance with vaccination rules and 5 for not wearing a mask. 24 in total with more to come.

— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) March 28, 2022

Transport Canada did not disclose any more specifics on exactly how much money the passengers were fined. Since November 30 across Canada, the federal government requires all passengers over the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to board a commercial flight, train, or cruise ship.

At the time of the infamous flight frenzy, Transport Canada threatened to fine any and all unvaccinated travellers on the flight $5,000.

On December 30, videos of a party on a privately chartered flight full of Quebec social media influencers and actors went viral. The airline that hosted the flight, Sunwing, declined the partygoers’ return flight out of Cancun a few days later, citing a breach in their contract. Passengers were also recorded breaking several airline codes, including dancing in aisles, not wearing masks, drinking alcohol, and smoking e-cigarettes.

At the time, Alghabra said certain behaviours on the flight were “unacceptable,” justifying why Transport Canada “took immediate action.”

“Aviation rules must be respected by everyone, for the sake of everyone’s safety,” he said. “Transport Canada will continue to investigate and issue all necessary penalties.”

After the videos circulated, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the in-flight party was a “slap in the face” to Canadians to see people “putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible.”