US pilot orders 23 pizzas for passengers of an Air Canada plane stranded on the tarmac

A pilot on an Air Canada flight knew exactly what to do after his diverted plane full of passengers was stranded for eight hours in the snow: Order pizza.

Air Canada Flight 608 departed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Toronto, Ontario, Monday evening, but was forced to divert to Fredericton, New Brunswick, due to severe weather. The sudden reroute left travellers stranded on a snowy tarmac for hours with little to eat.

Until, the pilot ordered 23 pies from Minglers Restaurant and Pub in New Brunswick.

Josee Larivee, the restaurant's owner and manager, said that the pilot called the eatery directly from the cockpit to request cheese and pepperoni pizzas for his passengers.

"We have delivered to an airport a few times to feed people, but not to a plane," Larivee said. "I told him, 'No, that's not a problem,' because ... we complete (large) orders like that on a basic day."

Larivee added that the delivery, from stove to plane, was completed in an hour and 15 minutes, despite weather conditions. Talk about five stars.

Passenger Bill Karsten, who was on the receiving end of the order, shared a picture of fellow travellers chowing down as a flight attendant offered him slices of cheese pizza. He captioned the image, "PIZZA had arrived!"

In a statement, Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said the meal was a team effort, crediting the flight crew with helping distribute the pies.