Smoking Family on Plane: Flight from Halifax to Punta Cana Diverted

A plane flying from Halifax, Canada to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was forced to land in Bermuda Friday night when three smoking passengers refused to put out their lights, CBC reported.

The Bermuda police boarded the plane, Sunwing Flight 454, where they arrested the three passengers.

"It appeared to be a father, a mother and a son," acting Insp. Paul Simons told CBC. "The parents appear to be in their 50s. The son, I believe, is around 22 or so."

Dave Shellington received a text about the incident from his wife, a passenger, he told CBC.

"They were smoking in the plane's washroom, and when they came out, they got into a little bit of an argument with the attendants," Shellington said. "They couldn't say where they put their cigarette butts, and that caused a bit of a commotion, I guess. From there it kind of escalated with the father, the mother and the son."

His wife noted that there was a lot of screaming and swearing, Shellington told CBC. 

But Simons told CBC that the family was cooperative when police removed them from the plane. He could not confirm the family's nationality or if they had also been drinking, CBC reported.

The family was taken to the police station and later released on bail - but Bermuda police seized their passports, and they aren't allowed to leave the island, according to CBC. None of them have been officially charged, CBC reported.

The flight was also grounded so a Canadian-trained mechanic could inspect it, Simons told CBC, and it was rescheduled to leave on Sunday.