Flight movies have this compelling aspect—one moment they put us inside an aircraft we’re flying through the air, and the next they crank up our suspense, danger, or absurdity experience until we cannot look away. It doesn’t matter if it’s the panic-inducing terror of being stuck thousands of feet above ground, the exhilarated fight for life, or the ridiculous comedy that follows when disaster takes a detour into satire; air-bound flicks have carved out their thrilling little niche in cinema. The range is from the bravest acts of heroism to the funniest parodies of the genre. These are 10 of the most-praised airplane movies of all time—the films that either went to the top, fell, or both, but still, always made a mark.
10. Plane (2023)
Gerard Butler is once again the go-to man in Hollywood for aerial anarchy. In Plane, he is a pilot who crash-lands in a jungle infested with terrorized criminals. With nothing but a convicted murderer (Mike Colter) to assist him in keeping the passengers alive, the action toggles between jungle danger and in-flight stunts. By the time the bad guy gets blown up, the film does exactly what the title suggests: loads of plane-powered chaos.
9. Blood Red Sky (2021)
This German thriller combines two unlikely pairings: hijacking drama and vampire horror. A mom keeps a horror secret under wraps while attempting to protect her son and other passengers from terrorists, resulting in bloody, claustrophobic slaughter. What might’ve been a gimmick becomes unexpectedly emotional and earns the film a spot on this list, showing that there’s still a lot of creative air space remaining in the airplane-thriller genre.
8. Flight (2012)
Denzel Washington grounds this drama with one of his strongest performances. Cast as a pilot who crash-lands a dying plane, miraculously, he’s a hero—until investigations uncover his demons. Robert Zemeckis directs Flight as much as a film about the crash as it is about the price of addiction and the definition of responsibility, and it stands as one of the most sobering entries here.
7. Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Occasionally, the title is true. Samuel L. Jackson fighting a cabin full of lethal snakes is every bit as bizarre as it sounds. The film accepts its B-movie status, going all in on jump scares, ridiculous deaths, and memorable one-liners. Part thriller, part internet sensation, it’s a cult hit that means that nobody will ever perceive carry-on bags in the same way again.
6. Airport (1970) & Airport ’77 (1977)
The Airport franchise established the genre before Airplane! Satirized it. The original Airport mixed an all-star cast, individual melodramas, and in-flight catastrophes into a box-office powerhouse that inspired three sequels. Airport ’77 did bigger and wetter by crashing a luxury plane into the ocean. These films are unadulterated 1970s disaster spectacles, paving the way for decades of airplane mayhem to follow.
5. Con Air (1997)
Few action movies are more wonderfully, hilariously over-the-top than Con Air. Nicolas Cage sports a mullet and drawl as a former convict who’s just wanting to get home, but finds himself marooned on a prisoner transport plane taken over by psychos. With John Malkovich’s “Cyrus the Virus” scheming havoc and Steve Buscemi as an otherworldly peaceful serial killer, the film is pure adrenaline ’90s. The climax, in which the plane crashed onto the Las Vegas Strip, solidifies its status as an action classic.
4. Passenger 57 (1992)
Wesley Snipes’ breakthrough action role made him a household name. Playing a security expert who finds himself aboard a hijacked plane, he spends the movie outwitting terrorists using martial arts, cleverness, and one-liners with cutting steel. It’s speedy, hip, and quintessentially 9’90sand it also introduced us to Snipes’ signature tidbit of wisdom: “Always bet on black.”
3. Air Force One (1997)
If you’ve ever wanted to see the President of the United States throw terrorists off his plane, this is the movie for you. Harrison Ford’s no-nonsense commander-in-chief faces off against Gary Oldman’s ruthless villain in Wolfgang Petersen’s blockbuster hit. Packed with patriotic punch and unforgettable lines, Air Force One is the definitive “Die Hard in the sky.”
2. Airplane! (1980)
This comedy classic redefined parody for all time. By satirizing disaster films with stone-faced absurdity, Airplane! made every gag an instant classic—whether it’s a drinking problem, the inflatable co-pilot Otto, or the endless torrent of puns. The cast’s deadpan delivery, particularly from Leslie Nielsen, elevated the absurdity into comedic gold. More than four decades on, it’s still one of the funniest movies ever made.
1. The Naked Gun Series (and Its Spoof Legacy)
While not limited to airplane environments, the Naked Gun trilogy continued the Airplane! Vibe. Leslie Nielsen’s hapless detective Frank Drebin bumbles his way through a universe in which each line and background element is a prelude to a gag. The over-the-top slapstick and punning had people in stitches throughout the late ’80s and early ’90s. With a remake on the cards featuring Liam Neeson, the tradition of this type of comedy could be set to soar again.
From hijacking vampires to action heroes in chief, airplane movies have had us on some unforgettable rides. They can be suspenseful, funny, absurd, or even moving—but whether the strategy, they’re sure to show you that once you board a plane at the movies, you’re in for a ride you’ll never forget.