Canadian Flight En Route to Cuba Diverted Due to Disruptive Passengers

iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(TORONTO) — A pair of North American Aerospace Defense Command fighter jets were diverted to escort a Sunwing Airlines flight that returned to Toronto after disruptive behavior by a pair of passengers.

According to Sunwing, a pair of female passengers “consumed a significant quantity of their duty-free alcohol purchase in the lavatory and lit a cigarette,” which triggered the plane’s smoke detector. After that, the two women got into a physical altercation.

Sunwing says a threat was made against the aircraft, at which point it was diverted back to Toronto. The plane had been en route to Cuba.

The fighter jets escorted the plane to the Canadian border, a U.S. law enforcement official said. The flight landed at Pearson Airport, where it is expected to take off again at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Sunwing said in a statement that passengers were provided with complimentary meal vouchers.


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