Sunwing party plane organizer threatens to sue airlines

Jan 27 2022, 7:35 pm

The organizer of the infamous “Sunwing party plane” says he plans on suing the airline for “not respecting contracts.”

During a Thursday afternoon press conference, James William Awad said he is prepared to take legal action against Sunwing and Air Canada for declaring the group a “safety risk” and for refusing to fly them home.

At the beginning of January, Awad, the founder of TripleOne Decentralized Concept and 111 Private Club, caused a media frenzy after videos and photos began circulating on Instagram showing passengers dancing, drinking, and smoking in the aisles of an in-flight Sunwing plane, many without masks or following physical distancing requirements.

The flight out of Montreal landed in Cancun on New Year’s Eve.

Transport Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and various airlines got involved, eventually resulting in members of the plane to be stuck in Cancun after airlines announced they would refuse the partiers to board flights home.

“We’re working on taking legal action against Sunwing and may be proceeding against Air Canada,” said Awad. “Of course, I regret what happened on the plane for certain people who did not respect the rules.”

Awad argues that Sunwing Airlines, Air Canada, and Air Transat “had no right” to “abandon 154 Canadian citizens in Mexico without knowing if they could afford more nights in hotels, without knowing if they could afford food. They decided to abandon everybody because of a single article in the news.”

Awad says the longest someone stayed after getting refused by airlines was “maybe a week.” The 111 Private Club founder says “people that stayed in Mexico continued the party because they knew they were banned. They decided ‘you know what? I’m going to stay here for a while longer.'”

Awad says he agreed to all of Sunwing’s pre-flight conditions, but argues the airlines did not uphold their part of the agreement.

Daily Hive reached out to Sunwing and Air Canada for a statement.

Ty JadahTy Jadah

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