'Partying was allowed': Organizer of controversial Sunwing flight calls critics 'sheep'

MONTREAL -

The Sunwing saga continues, with trip organizer James William Awad calling critics of the now-notorious plane ride “sheep” on Twitter Sunday morning.

“Reality of the story, sheeps [sic] are mad because people partied on a private chartered plane where partying was allowed. Wake up!!” he wrote.

Reality of the story, sheeps are mad because people partied on a private chartered plane where partying was allowed. Wake up!!

— James William Awad (@111jameswilliam) January 9, 2022

The proclamation follows a Thursday Blogspot statement in which Awad said he “understand[s] why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation” and that he learned from his experience.

Last week, Awad told CTV News that Sunwing is partially to blame for the controversy in which a group of Quebec influencers came under fire following reports of raucous partying on a chartered flight to Mexico.

In a series of posts to social media, maskless passengers were shown drinking, vaping and partying, sparking public outrage and leading Sunwing and other airlines to refuse the travellers passage back to Canada.

But Awad says staff didn’t tell passengers to stop partying and supplied them with the alcohol they were drinking.

There were “flight attendants dancing with us,” he alleged. “If an instruction was given to stop everything, I would’ve stopped it in one second.”

Sunwing has yet to respond to these accusations.

The incident made waves across Quebec and beyond, earning a reprimand from Justin Trudeau and even making an appearance on The Tonight Show.

“No better way to teach someone a lesson than forcing them to spend more time in Cancun,” joked host Jimmy Fallon.

pic.twitter.com/8tHsmSJset

— James William Awad (@111jameswilliam) January 8, 2022

The flight is currently under investigation by Transport Canada, with passengers facing potential fines. Canada’s health minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, said Friday that Quebec prosecutors have been notified of the incident and will investigate possible infractions.