Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – New penalties have been issued against some passengers who made headlines for their rowdy behavior on a chartered flight from Montreal, Canada, to Cancun, Mexico, on New Year’s Eve 2022.
Omar Al-Ghabra, Canadian Minister of Transport and Representative for the Mississauga Province, announced a new series of fines for passengers who were on a Sunwing Airlines flight on December 30, for not complying with the rules of vaccination and wearing protective masks.
Al-Ghabra tweeted Monday, “There are consequences for those who break the law! We have issued a new series of 6 fines, up to $5,000, to passengers on the December 30 flight to Cancun. 5 of them are related to non-compliance with vaccination rules, and a fine One for not wearing a protective mask. The number of fines is 12 so far. And more to follow!”
On March 8, Al-Ghabra issued penalties against the first six passengers who were not fully immunized at the moment of boarding the plane, in a press release issued by Transport Canada.
The agency said that fines may reach a maximum of 5,000 Canadian dollars, or about 3,970 US dollars.
Stranded in Mexico
Members of the bustling group who appeared in the videos dancing, drinking and smoking e-cigarettes without masks on a flight to Cancun found themselves stranded in Mexico, in early January, after a flight back to Canada was canceled, and other airlines refused to take them home.
Sunwing Airlines said it canceled the return flight, which was scheduled for January 5, because the group did not agree to the terms it set.
In a statement at the time, Sunwing said its decision to cancel the group’s return trip to Canada stemmed from “the group’s refusal to accept all terms, and our security team’s assessment that their non-compliance means their performance will be similar to their previous disruptive behavior.”
Two other airlines did not accept to return them.
The group flew to Cancun on a chartered flight, as part of a flight organized by an “exclusive private group” – 111 Private Club.
Trudeau: A slap in the face
According to Transport Canada, the flight was carrying 154 passengers, who were required to be fully immunized in line with the civil aviation decision related to “Covid-19”.
A video clip of the behavior of passengers dancing and drinking in the aisles sparked outrage in Canada, and an outcry from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau described what happened at a press conference in January as “a slap in the face to see people putting themselves in danger, and putting their citizens, and airline workers at risk, because they are absolutely irresponsible.”