Canadian flight heading to Cuba turned back to Toronto
 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...rges-1.2749114



Two women from Ontario will face charges after their behaviour aboard a Cuba-bound flight prompted the pilot to turn back to Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday, police say.

Sunwing Flight 656: 'Unruly' passengers force plane's return to Pearson

Facing charges of endangering the safety of an aircraft and smoking on an aircraft are:

Melana Muzikante, 26, of Vaughan.
Lilia Ratmanski, 25, of Whitby.

Police allege the women aboard the afternoon flight from Toronto to Varadero drank most of their duty-free alcohol, got into a fight with each other and activated a smoke alarm by lighting a cigarette in the lavatory.

A spokesperson for Sunwing told CBC News the women also "made a threat against the aircraft, which was considered non-credible, given their condition."
Escorted to Toronto by military planes

The pilot of the 737 described the two women as disruptive "in a serious manner," and reported to NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) while the plane was in U.S. airspace that the aircraft was "under threat."

Officials with NORAD's Canadian sector in Winnipeg told CBC News that they sent two Canadian Forces CF-18 fighters from CFB Bagotville in Quebec to intercept Sunwing Flight 656 and escort it back to Pearson.

Police were called to the airport between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday. The women were arrested when the plane landed, said Const. George Tudos of Peel Regional Police.

"The disruptive behaviour of these two individuals prompted that pilot to make a decision to come back to Pearson," said Tudos. "So obviously charges will be pending and will be in relation to their actions on board that aircraft."

The flight was preparing to take off again late Wednesday night with a new flight crew. Passengers were provided with meal vouchers and the airline apologized for the incident.

The women are expected to appear in a Brampton, Ont., court Thursday.

Probably better to land in Canada than in Cuba and deal with the issue.

Two F 18 s for drunks? Man the RCAF must be bored and have a huge budget!

As this involved a Canadian Carrier, flying passengers boarding in YYZ, involved Canadian Air Force response, and an escort back to YYZ, please follow the thread as it moves to the Canada forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Better for whom?

:D

I appreciate the humour in your response, but have elected to answer the question seriously, by saying that I would think it would be better for all involved - the airline, the passengers, and the women involved in the altercation. Since the airline in question is a Canadian airline, their management and their legal team are more familiar with Canadian law and how it will address the issue. Basically, what you get by landing in Canada is more certainty in how the issue will be handled, what the impact will be on the other passengers, etc.

If they had continued to Cuba, there is a risk that passengers on the plane could be detained for hours while the Cubans sized up the situation and determine their response.