Drunk and belligerent on duty-free booze, Milana Muzikante and Lilia Ratmanski smoked a cigarette in the bathroom of a Cuba-bound Sunwing flight promptly setting off the smoke alarm.

After they were ordered back to their seats by the crew, a male passenger reported overhearing Ratmanski make a bomb threat and Muzikante respond affirmatively.

The pilot didn’t think the threat was credible — but out of caution decided to head back to Pearson airport.

The plane was escorted through Canadian airspace by two Canadian Forces fighter jets, as per the protocol of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Muzikante, then 26, and Ratmanski, then 25, were arrested upon landing amid the cheers of their fellow passengers and charged with mischief, smoking on a plane, uttering a threat to destroy an aircraft and endangering the safety of the Sunwing flight.

On Tuesday, more than two years later, the women were sentenced to a conditional discharge and 12 months of probation including 100 hours of community service. They pleaded guilty earlier this year to the least serious charges of mischief and smoking onboard an aircraft.

Their sentences mean they won't have a criminal record if they abide by their probation terms.

They each must pay a fine of $500 for smoking on board an aircraft and $7,500 in restitution to Sunwing.

Sunwing claimed it lost $42,500 as a result of costs including fuel, crew, airport handling fees and vouchers to the other passengers.

Ontario Court Justice Patrice Band emphasized that the women’s obnoxious behaviour did not directly endanger anyone on the plane, though other passengers would likely have been frightened by the mention of a bomb.

“In a post-9/11 world fear and anxiety lie just below the surface for even the most seasoned of travellers,” he wrote in his decision.

The pilot’s decision to turn the plane around was made out of concern for passengers, as well as the possibility the behaviour of Ratmanski and Muzikante could escalate, Band said.

But this was less serious, Band said, than a 2011 incident where two drunk, aggressive Research in Motion Ltd. executives had to be restrained by staff and passengers on a Toronto-Beijing flight, causing the Air Canada flight to land in Vancouver.

Both women made tearful apologies for their behaviour on August 27, 2014 at a previous court appearance.

Band also noted that both women are studying to become nurses and found this incident to be “out of character” for them.

“Good luck, I hope it works out on the nursing front,” he told them. “It looks like you both show really good promise. That was a large part of my decision.”

He also pointed out that they have been punished in some ways already.

There has been substantial nationwide coverage of their actions, sometimes including images that portray them as “vapid party girls,” he said.

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Their behaviour could also impact their career prospects and they are both on Sunwing’s no-fly list.

Muzikante, who is in Canada on a work permit, was at risk of being deported should she get a criminal record.

And, as a result of her bail conditions, Ratmanski was unable to travel to Ukraine in time to see her sick mother before she died or attend to the funeral arrangements.

Band said the sentence — including the $8,000 penalty — should deter others from similar behaviour.