Two airline passengers flying from Great Britain to Mexico will instead spend 30 days in a Manitoba prison.

Twenty-five-year-old Ben Iontton and 34-year-old Natalie Walker, both from the U.K., received the sentence after pleading guilty to unruly behaviour on the plane.

The plane was diverted to Winnipeg in mid-flight, and the RCMP was called. Both passengers, who didn't know each other but were on the same flight, were arrested when the plane landed in Winnipeg.

Witnesses said the two had been drinking heavily.