American Airlines Captain Buys Passengers Pizza
An American Airlines captain bought 40 pizzas for passengers after the flight was diverted, and later canceled. In this image: American Airlines jets sit on the tarmac as an American Eagle jet taxis to the gate at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, April 25, 2003. Getty Images/Scott Olson

The captain of an American Airlines flight took it upon himself to order 40 pizzas for starving passengers who had to wait at the airport for hours after the plane was first diverted to Wichita Falls, Texas, on Thursday and later canceled. A video of the same was widely circulated on social media.

American Airlines Flight 2354, which left the Los Angeles International Airport on time was supposed to reach Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 4.36 p.m. CDT, Thursday (5.36 p.m. EDT). Due to bad weather conditions, the flight was diverted to Wichita Falls Regional Airport, where it landed at 5.37 p.m. CDT (6.37 p.m. EDT). Bad weather conditions caused multiple flight delays in Texas on Thursday.

When the flight was delayed, many took to Twitter to express their concerns. Some were worried as their luggage got wet as they waited, while others complained that the airlines did not provide them with food during the long waiting time before it was announced that the flight was finally canceled. The next available flight from Wichita Falls to Dallas was on Friday morning.

Another American Airlines Flight 570, from Phoenix to San Antonio, was diverted and landed at Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas on Thursday. The flight departed from Phoenix at 12.27 p.m. MST (2.27 p.m. EDT) and was landed in Texas a little after 4.30 p.m. CDT (5.30 p.m. EDT). The flight remained grounded for over 5 hours before it finally left the airport at 6.30 p.m. CDT (7.30 p.m. EDT) and reached San Antonio at 7.30 p.m. CDT (8.30 p.m. EDT), according to data provided by flightstats.com.

According to reports, North Texas was experiencing heavy rain on Thursday. A report from CBS DFW said a flash flood watch was issued in Dallas, Collin and Denton counties until 7:15 p.m. EDT, Thursday. Several inches of rain fell in many parts of North Texas, according to the National Weather Service. The agency issued a “Hazardous Weather Outlook” for many parts of Texas, including Dallas and San Antonio.

The report said there would be isolated thunderstorms in the early hours of Friday across North and Central Texas along with heavy rainfall and isolated flood risks in case of prevalent thunderstorms. Showers and thunderstorms were expected to continue into the weekend.

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