quebecers on a plane

MONTREAL -- Sunwing Airlines has cancelled the return flight for a group of Quebecers who partied maskless on a chartered flight from Montreal to Cancun on Dec. 30.

In a series of now-deleted videos on social media, passengers were seen drinking alcohol, vaping, and partying in close proximity.

According to a report by the Journal de Montreal, passengers included Quebec social media influencers and reality TV stars. 

In order to board the return flight, the tour group was presented with terms and conditions “to ensure the safety of the crew and passengers,” according to the airline.

“Unfortunately, the group did not accept all of the terms,” reads a statement. “As a result […] we have made the decision to cancel the return flight.”

But James William Awad, who organized the chartered flight, told CTV News the return trip was “cancelled for unknown reasons.”

“I agreed to all their conditions. But I wanted to make sure my group eats, so I told them I want food [on] the plane.”

“It’s a 5 hour flight, they don’t want to feed my group. It poses no concerns for flight safety,” he argued.

Awad also claimed that the airline “wanted us to party.”

“The reality is that Sunwing gave alcohol to all my group during the whole flight,” he said. “Selling that alcohol for $5 a bottle.”

He also said that the group would have stopped vaping if they were asked to, but weren’t.

According to the Sunwing website, “electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes or personal vaporizers) must be packed in your carry-on baggage and cannot be used onboard.” However, it’s unclear whether this rule applies to Sunwing’s chartered flights as well; Sunwing did not provide an answer when asked.

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