Air Canada pilot orders pizzas for plane-load of passengers stranded on runway

The delivery service was ‘laughing all night’ at the unusual order

An Air Canada pilot ordered 23 pizzas for passengers (AFP/Getty Images)

One Air Canada pilot proved that not all heroes wear capes when he ordered pizzas for an aircraft full of stranded passengers in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

The flight left Toronto on Monday 4 March and was heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia, when it had to divert due to adverse weather.

Passengers were stuck on the snowy runway, going nowhere, when the pilot made the executive decision to order a takeaway – 23 pizzas, delivered to the plane door.

Minglers Restaurant and Pub in Oromocto took the order, with manager Jofee Larivée agreeing to have them delivered in around 90 minutes.

She told CNN that restaurant staff were “laughing all night” about the unusual order.

When the pizzas arrived, Minglers called the pilot and the cabin crew went to meet the delivery team at the door.

Passenger Philomena Hughes commended the pilot on keeping passengers fed and well-informed during the delay.

“It was something that could have been very stressful; he made it a lot easier,” she said. “There was lots of help, there were a couple of Air Canada Jazz pilots that were travelling on the plane and they were helping to pick up the pizza and distribute it.

“Everybody chipped in, so he didn’t want to take the whole credit for himself.”

According to Larivée, the pilot called the restaurant back on Tuesday specially to thank staff for their help.

The story follows a passenger receiving a much less palatable inflight meal.

Bradley Button was travelling onboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ248 from Melbourne to New Zealand capital Wellington when he found a tooth in his rice dish.

“I threw my guts up,” Mr Button told Australia media.

“For the rest of the flight I was not well, just the idea of having someone else’s body part in my food is not nice.”