Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos participates in a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Duclos says about 27 of the 130 passengers on the Sunwing party flight to Mexico have returned to Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA - Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says about 27 of the 130 passengers on the Sunwing party flight to Mexico have returned to Canada.
Duclos told reporters today the returning travellers were interrogated at the border, tested for COVID-19 and had their documents, including PCR test results, verified by authorities.
Videos shared online of the raucous party on a Dec. 30 Montreal-Cancun charter flight sparked anger from politicians and an investigation by Transport Canada in conjunction with the federal health and public safety departments.
Duclos says Quebec provincial police have contacted the federal government for information on the travellers, adding that information on them has been sent to the Quebec government.
The videos of the on-board party showed unmasked passengers in close proximity singing and dancing in the aisle and on seats, as some clutched bottles of liquor, snapped selfies and vaped.
The passengers aboard the Sunwing Airlines flight have become pariahs, and many were stranded after Sunwing cancelled their return flight and two other airlines — Air Transat and Air Canada — said they would refuse to carry the travellers home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2022.