VIDEO – Covid-19: the “unacceptable” trip of Quebec influencers to Mexico

Uproar in Canada. On December 30, a flight from the Canadian company Sunwing – with dozens of influencers and participants of Quebec reality shows on board – “quickly got out of hand”, say local media, including The Journal of Montreal. According to the latter and images posted on social networks, the passengers on this flight between Montreal and Cancun began to smoke, drink alcohol and even have sexual antics. All without any mask or physical distancing, in a particularly tense health context. Refugees at the back of the aircraft, the staff, for their part, experienced a real ordeal.

This event, widely publicized across the Atlantic, sparked intense controversy in Canada, where the government recently tightened health restrictions. Moreover, the inhabitants were confined to their homes for the New Year, with a ban on many waking up. “When a gang of aimless [une bande d’idiots] decides to go on vacation like Ostrogoths, it’s extremely frustrating and demoralizing “, got carried away Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister. “It is unacceptable that people are endangering not just other passengers, not just workers from other airlines, but their fellow citizens.”, he stressed. “I can tell you that Transport Canada and the Government of Canada take this very seriously. We will do follow-ups to find out how it went”, insists the native of Ottawa.

The main tour operator defended himself on social media, claiming to have demanded that “all passengers are tested in Montreal to ensure a safe trip, even though Mexican authorities do not require a negative PCR test to enter the country”. Only then, one of the passengers admitted that she was positive for Covid-19 before boarding the flight. As a result, to date, more than thirty participants are infected.

Faced with the scale of the controversy, the airline has decided to cancel the return trip, scheduled for January 5, the troublemakers. Two other carriers, Air Canada and Air Transat have also refused, for security reasons, to ensure the repatriation of influencers, currently still stranded in Mexico.

Beyond the health aspect, the revelers also endangered the safety of the flight. “An airplane is mass-balanced, like a scale. If all of a sudden you put all the passengers in front, it will tip over and nose down. On the contrary, if you put all the passengers towards the plane. ‘rear, the device will become uncontrollable with the nose going up in the air “, Jean Serrat, aviation specialist and former Boeing 747 pilot, explained to TF1. Several observers were also surprised at the passivity of Sunwing staff. “It’s amazing that we continue the journey without interruption”, points out the director of the Observatory of Aeronautics and Civil Aviation, Mehran Ebrahimi, in comments reported by Courrier International. “Pilots turn around or land urgently for less than that”, he advances.

An investigation has been opened to shed light on this case and understand how the theft could have escalated to this point. The culprits risk fines of several thousand euros, in particular for endangering the life of others.

With more than 36,000 new daily cases on average in Canada in recent days, Canada has recently tightened its health restrictions, especially on unvaccinated people. As of January 18, the purchase of alcohol and cannabis will be conditional on the presentation of a vaccination passport in Quebec.. “I think the first objective is to limit contact and the second to protect them from themselves”, justified Christian Dubé, Quebec Minister of Health. “We will make sure that they understand very well that, if they do not want to be vaccinated, they stay at home”, he asserts. The Canadian federal government has also decided to deny unemployment benefits to those who find themselves unemployed by refusing to be vaccinated. In several provinces, restrictive measures – closed schools and public places, prohibited private gatherings – have been restored.