Transport Canada’s fined two passengers for not wishing to wear masks aboard separate flights.

The department says each was fined $1,000 after ignoring repeated directions from the cabin crews to cover their faces.

The first incident happened in June on a WestJet flight from Calgary to Waterloo; the second on a WestJet flight from Vancouver to Calgary.

The fines are the first ones handed out since masks or face coverings became mandatory on flights April 20 as part of Ottawa’s response to COVID-19.

They also come just days after the airline announced a strict new policy with consequences for refusal to wear a face covering, that includes a year-long travel ban.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, since March, at least 973 flights have carried passengers with confirmed or suspected cases in Canada.

Some flights may have had more than one positive case reported and a given case may have taken more than one flight.