Trudeau hits out at Canadian influencer’s party plane to Cancun flouting Covid rules

Liberal Party leader says ‘I’m extremely frustrated’ as return flight cancelled

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has described video of a party onboard a Sunwings Airlines flight from Montreal to Cancun as a “slap in the face” for people who have complied with Covid regulations so far.

The Liberal Party leader was speaking on Tuesday when he said his government would “fully investigate” what happened onboard the flight on 30 December.

Video shared on social media in recent days appeared to show passengers partying without masks, dancing and drinking alcohol – all without complying with Canada’s rules for Covid.

The plane appeared to have been chartered by influencers from Canada, reports suggested.

Asked what his government would do about the violation in Covid rules, Mr Trudeau said he could assure members of the public who “worked hard” to follow regulations “that Transport Canada is taking the situation extremely seriously”.

Mr Trudeau told reporters: “There will be a full investigation into exactly what went on...[and] like all Canadians who’ve seen those videos, I’m extremely frustrated.”

“We know how hard people have worked to keep themselves safe, to limit their family gatherings at Christmastime, to wear masks, to get vaccinated, to do all the right things,” the prime minister added.

“It’s a slap in the face to see people putting themselves, putting their fellow citizens, putting airline workers at risk by being completely irresponsible.”

His remarks came after Canadian transport minister Omar Alghabra said he was “aware of the reports of unacceptable behavior on a Sunwing flight. I have asked Transport Canada to investigate the matter. We must take the risks of COVID seriously!”

In a joint statement with Canada’s health minister Jean-Yves Duclos and public safety minister Marco Mendicino, Mr Alghabra called for $5,000 (£2,890) fines per offence in the wake of the video, which he described as “unacceptable”.

“Our government takes reported incidents such as these very seriously,” the ministers said in the statement, as NBC News reported. “We have directed our respective departmental officials to immediately launch an investigation into these allegations of non-compliance with COVID-19 and air safety rules and regulations.”

According to CBC News, the Sunwing Airlines flight was charted a company called 111 Private Club and the airline has since cancelled the return flight after the group refused to comply with new terms and conditions.

The airline told The Independent on Thursday that “the behaviour of a group of passengers was unruly and contravened several Canadian Aviation Regulations as well as public health regulations, prompting an investigation by Sunwing Airlines’ security department and an initial notification from Sunwing Airlines to Transport Canada.”

An internal review was conducted and Sunwing said it looked forward to the results of the Canadian government’s investigation.