Delta buys pizza for passengers after canceling 3,000 flights due to Atlanta weather

This story has been updated.
After canceling 3,000 flights due to the severe thunderstorms and tornado watch that plagued the Southeast Wednesday, Delta Air Lines is catering to passengers' appetites to help ease their frustration.
» RELATED: Delta woes extend to third day: ‘It was like a madhouse’
The Atlanta-based airline ordered more than 450 boxes of pizza for hundreds of stranded passengers at airports in Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Ohio, Kentucky and other states with canceled or delayed flights affected by the storms.
This isn’t Delta’s first time offering free grub to keep customers happy.
Last year, during Delta's massive power outage that led to 2,300 canceled flights, the airline brought affected passengers donuts, pizza and free booze.
And in 2015, after a string of storms caused passengers heading to Atlanta to divert to South Carolina, Delta threw a few pizza parties to ease the pain.
“We know it’s not fun to be stuck on the ground somewhere,” Delta corporate communications manager Michael Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though Thomas doesn’t know exactly how many pizza boxes were dispatched, he said several stations in the Southeast, are in on the action.
In Panama City, Florida, Delta employees ordered 60 pizzas and 20 trays of chicken biscuits to feed well over 300 customers, he said.
Those stranded at the Nashville International Airport received 160 pizzas, plus 60 foot-long subs.
Some stations even brought out games and coloring books for passengers traveling with small children.
“It’s just a small gesture but it’s one that our customers do appreciate,” Thomas said.
Several passengers took to Twitter to offer their gratitude:
@Delta great customer service in Baton Rouge. Bought pizza for passengers delayed due to Atlanta weather #customerservicedoneright pic.twitter.com/KOxcuhNsb9
— Laura J. Campa (@ljcampa) April 5, 2017
#pizzapartyw/Delta
— Donna Shartzer (@DonnaShartzer) April 5, 2017
Delta graciously provided water and pizza to my school group traveling to Florida due to weather delays
Let's try this again and the pizza just arrived to the terminal! Yay! Thanks @Delta #delayedflight pic.twitter.com/8YmmJezcTr
— Xinia (@xiniapirkey) April 5, 2017
Bad weather ATL & other airports. @Delta employees - total pro's. Snacks, water, pizza & much patience. Silvia H - GSO amazed me.
— Ronda B.C. (@RondaReport) April 5, 2017
@Delta great crew on DL1084 while diverted to Nashville due to weather in ATL. They are so awesome! Thanks for pizza!
— Cathy Mitchell (@CatMitch10045) April 5, 2017
@Delta thank you for delivering pizza to flight 2030. I love you.
— Zahra (@DearZahra) April 5, 2017
Stuck at the airport in Savannah because of weather in Atlanta...7 hour delay and Delta just ordered pizza for everyone! @Delta for the WIN!
— Noreen Nooner (@NoreenNooner) April 5, 2017
But many others weren’t satisfied.
@APSouthRegion @Delta Pizza isn't gonna get U where U need 2 go. The people buying the pizza should spend time answering the phones. What a novel thought!
— Kristin Aileen Brand (@BrandHighlights) April 7, 2017
@DavidKHarbour @Delta But they handed out Pizza last night. So you have that going for ya
— Scott McKelvie (@mckelvie2112) April 7, 2017
Funny how @Delta is trying to portray they are helping people by giving pizza at Atl hub but doing nothing to help people stuck out west.
— Jason Vitaris (@JVitaris39) April 7, 2017
Delta free pizza may make good PR but at 130 am flights being cancelled with no explanation bad bussiness. #deltaairlines #AtlantaAirport
— cliff h (@hoffer53) April 7, 2017
@GMA @Delta nobody cares about pizza if you don't make it to your destination.
— eliza howe (@howe_eliza) April 7, 2017
According to AJC’s Kelly Yamanouchi, Delta typically has approximately 1,000 peak-day departures a day from Atlanta.
» RELATED: Delta cancels 300 flights due to thunderstorm
The Federal Aviation Administration, Delta and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport advised travelers Wednesday to check their flight status to find out if theirs is affected by the storms.
Unfortunately, Yamanouchi reported, flight cancellations continued through Friday due to either crews being out of place or crew rest requirements after the storms.
The company said Friday it is “working hard to stabilize the operation to get it back to a reliable state,” and also warned that because of heavy spring break travel, there are few open seats for rebooking, leaving limited options for travelers whose flights were cancelled, Yamanouchi reported.
Visit airport.blog.ajc.com for more.

