Canada Has Now Fined Sunwing Party Plane Passengers & It's Not For Their Rowdy Behaviour
Fines could be up to $5,000. 😲
A still from the Sunwing Party Plane Video. Right: A Sunwing Plane
Some passengers from the controversial Sunwing party plane have been given penalties for their actions last year, but the fines weren't actually for their rowdy behaviour.
According to Transport Canada, fines have been issued as part of the ongoing investigation into the December 30, 2021, flight.
However, the penalties have been given to passengers who were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 when they got onto the plane. In other words, so far no tickets have been issued for anyone's questionable on-flight behaviour.
And with the investigation ongoing, Transport Canada says "it is expected that more penalties will be issued in the coming days and weeks."
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra echoed this in a statement online, saying "the investigation is still ongoing and other penalties will follow."
While the details of the fines are not public, Transport Canada said the fines could reach up to $5,000 per person.
The Sunwing party plane was an influencer-led charter flight from Montreal to Cancun, Mexico.
Videos from the trip showed maskless passengers out of their seats, vaping, drinking and flouting public health measures.
The videos gained so much attention that even Jimmy Fallon joked about it on The Tonight Show.
Since January, Transport Canada has been investigating what happened to determine if "regulations or requirements pertaining to aviation safety and security were contravened during that flight."
After the videos gained international attention, the event organizer, James William Awad, also received a lot of attention online. Awad has called his critics "sheeps" and said that they need to "wake up," in messages shared on social media.
He even advertised that he was hiring a personal assistant with a salary of $1 million dollars, with duties including bringing him fruit every morning and being on the clock 24/7.