Delta Air Lines Pilot Surprises Plane With Pizza Party, Passenger Says

Riley Vasquez said all passengers erupted in applause.

ByABC News
May 27, 2015, 6:21 PM
Delta threw passengers a pizza party after flight was rerouted.
Delta threw passengers a pizza party after flight was rerouted.
Riley Vasquez

— -- After learning that a Delta Air Lines flight on Tuesday would be rerouted due to a storm, the pilot surprised the passengers by announcing that they'd be having a pizza party, according to a passenger on the flight.

"As you can imagine, at that moment the plane erupted with cheer and applause," Riley Vasquez, of Nashville, Tennessee, told ABC News. "For the next 45 minutes or so, the flight attendants pushed a cart of pizzas up and down the aisles offering the choice of cheese, pepperoni or supreme to each passenger."

The plane, which departed from Denver at 9:30 a.m. en route to Atlanta, had to make a detour to Knoxville, Tennessee, and landed due to poor weather, Vasquez said.

PHOTO: Delta threw passengers a pizza party after flight was rerouted.
Delta threw passengers a pizza party after flight was rerouted.

"After we sat on the runway for two hours in Knoxville, the pilot kept giving us more bad news about not being able to leave the runway and fly to Atlanta because of a ban by the FAA," Vasquez said. "Then after delivering all the bad news, the pilot said, 'But the good news is, we ordered you all pizza.'"

"It created an unforgettable moment of joy, laughter and relief on that airplane and at that moment. It was exactly what we needed," Vasquez said.