TORONTO, Feb. 5, 2025 /CNW/ – Yesterday morning, Sunwing Vacations’ primary airline partner, Sunwing Airlines, embarked on its second annual celebratory flight in honour of Black History Month. Departing from Toronto to Montego Bay with a plane full of excited travellers on their way to enjoy their hard-earned vacations, yesterday’s flight was led by a Black flight deck and cabin crew.
Leading the charge inflight was Captain Jeffrey Gill (Montreal based) and First Officer Bereket Dadi (Toronto based), along with Cabin Safety Manager Urszula Dec (Toronto based) and Toronto-based Flight Attendants Chantele Francis, Nicole Cregg and Cheryl Williams, who have excelled in the field of aviation, inspiring others and paving the way for the next generation.
Michael Simmons, Sunwing Airlines’ Director of Line Operations and the driving force behind this important initiative, spoke to the importance of recognizing Black history in this way: “Celebrating Black History Month through this commemorative flight is more than just recognition – it’s a powerful message about progress and possibility. As someone who’s spent over 30 years in aviation, I’ve witnessed firsthand how representation has evolved. When I started, I rarely saw pilots who looked like me. By highlighting the achievements of Black aviation professionals, we’re showing the next generation that this exciting industry has a place for them. This isn’t just about acknowledging our past but also how we’re actively shaping the future by ensuring young people can see themselves in aviation. When they see us in the cockpit and on board as crew members, they know their dreams can take flight too.”
Together, Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines honour Black History Month and the legacy of Black Canadians through its Brave Space Conversation series where thought-provoking and meaningful dialogue is shared across the organization, ongoing reflection is encouraged, and the innovations and achievements are celebrated, while recognizing the challenges and systemic barriers still experienced to this day.
February is an important time of reflection, however Sunwing is proud to support the Black community every day of the year through its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy, while promoting, honouring and celebrating DEI for all experiences and backgrounds as an extension of its EPIC Values.
About Sunwing Vacations
As the leading vacation provider in Canada, Sunwing Vacations offers more vacation packages to the south than any other vacation provider with convenient direct service from cities across Canada to popular sun destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing Vacations to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations. Sunwing Vacations customers benefit from the assistance of our knowledgeable destination management partner, NexusTours, whose representatives greet customers upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. For more information, please visit sunwing.ca.
