Pilot buys pizza for entire flight during delay at Reagan National

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Published  May 17, 2026 2:32pm EDT
FOX 5 DC

The Brief

    • Passengers on a recent Southwest Airlines flight were facing a long, frustrating wait due to ground traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
    • The plane's pilot took matters into his own hands by ordering pizza for the entire plane and personally serving it to each passenger.
    • Southwest Airlines commended the pilot's spontaneous hospitality.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Plane passengers bracing themselves for hours of hunger and frustration were instead treated to an unexpected act of kindness.

What we know:

The pilot of a Southwest flight decided to offer some first-class hospitality after some traffic caused a delay at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

First Officer James stepped off the plane, ordered pizza for the entire flight, then served it to each passenger himself.

He turned a stressful flight delay into a plane pizza party!

What they're saying:

Southwest praised the pilot for showing such hospitality and compassion during a stressful situation.

"At Southwest, we hire for Heart. James is a walking definition of why. This is what sets our people apart: they don't wait to be asked to show up for others. They just do."

The Source: Information from this article was sourced from Southwest Airlines.

Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportWashington, D.C.