A student commercial pilot has confirmed Transport Canada is investigating her involvement in videos of a party aboard a chartered flight from Montreal to Cancun just before New Year’s. Vanessa Sicotte said in a series of social media messages that she is sorry for her part in what turned out to be a major scandal on Web sites and in mainstream media. She said she will “face the consequences” with Transport Canada although it’s not clear what issues the agency might have with her involvement.
Sicotte has been identified as the passenger blowing vapour toward the camera in one of the videos posted. Vaping is not against Canadian regulations but most airlines don’t allow it. Sicotte said the public reaction, which included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau characterizing the behaviour as a “slap in the face” to Canadians struggling through the pandemic, “wasn’t really warranted.” She said that while she apologizes to those she disappointed “the truth about what happened on this plane will come out one day or another.”