6 Sunwing party plane passengers slapped with fines up to $5K, ‘more penalties’ coming

Six Sunwing flight partiers received 'penalties' of up to $5,000 because they were not fully vaccinated when they boarded the flight to Cancun.

Six passengers from the infamous Sunwing flight to Mexico that saw reality TV stars and influencers vape, sing and dance on board have been slapped with financial penalties.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced on Tuesday that six revellers received “penalties” of up to $5,000 because they were not fully vaccinated when they boarded the flight to Cancun — but he did not disclose the exact amount of each of their fines.

“Certain behaviours reported in connection with the flight on December 30, 2021, are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Alghabra said in a press release.

“This is why Transport Canada took immediate action. Aviation rules must be respected by everyone, for the sake of everyone’s safety. Transport Canada will continue to investigate and issue all necessary penalties.”

The investigation into the flight is ongoing, the release went on to say, and “it is expected that more penalties will be issued in the coming days and weeks.”

There were a total of 154 passengers on board the privately chartered aircraft. Videos of the Dec. 30 flight shared on social media show a number of those passengers not wearing masks as they use vapes, hold a large bottle of vodka, and sing and dance in the aisles and on seats.

Social media posts showed some of the passengers were cast members from Quebec reality television shows, including the Quebec adaptation of the popular British dating series Love Island.

News of the flight emerged as Canada was grappling with a serious wave of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos at the time had advised Canadians not to travel abroad, warning travelling Canadians “could contract the virus, or get stranded abroad.”