Over the years, there have been plenty of movies and TV shows that center around planes. But for many of us out there, flying can be a scary experience... especially if you don't do it often. And as such, these are 32 movies you should never watch on an Airplane if you're scared of flying.
To clarify: a lot of these titles are great projects that are worth the watch. But if you're someone who is naturally nervous when traveling in the air, they might not be the best choice for you to watch mid-flight. In no particular order, here are some movies someone of that nature might want to avoid.
Snakes on a Plane
2006's Snakes on a Plane is a campy action thriller, one that has been endlessly quotable and meme-able in the years since its release. Despite the comedy involved in the project, watching it on a plane is probably not the smartest call.
Gravity
While not set on a plane per se, Gravity is a movie that would still give me the willies if I were on a plane. After all, Sandra Bullock is on an aircraft high above Earth, and eventually crash lands in the third act. Maybe it's better to have seen Gravity in theaters.
Flightplan
Flightplan hit theaters in 2005 and was a fun psychological thriller focused on a mother whose child mysteriously disappears in the midst of a long flight. Jodie Foster is incredible as always, but this could be anxiety-inducing to watch while flying.
Red Eye
Red Eye came from the great Wes Craven and stars Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, who admitted he wasn't a huge fan of the movie. It's a thriller that's almost entirely set on a plane, so anxious fliers might want to avoid it.
Final Destination
This entry might be the most obvious on this list. In the OG Final Destination, Devon Sawa's Alex Browning has a premonition of his plane exploding While he and a few classmates rush out before it explodes, death follows them as they die in horrifying ways.
United 93
United 93 came out in 2006, just a few years after the events of 9/11. Given that this movie tells the emotional true story of United Airlines Flight 93, it's a movie you want to stay far away from while flying.
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a cult classic 2001 film that follows Jake Gyllenhaal's title character as he navigates the space-time continuum. It all starts when a jet engine mysteriously crashes into his bedroom, and that mysterious doomed flight is a big part of the overall story.
Plane
Plane is a 2023 thriller starring Mike Colter and Gerard Butler, which starts when lightning hits a plane that carries both police and a homicide suspect. This unlikely duo has to work together after the plane goes down, but that opening sequence is not great for nervous flyers.
Sully
Tom Hanks stars as the title character of Sully, aka Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger the pilot who famously landed on the Hudson River in 2009 after striking a flock of birds. It's a solid movie, but not exactly what one wants to watch on a plane.
The Mountain Between Us
The Mountain Between Us is another movie on this list that is kickstarted by a plane crash. This time it's a super small plane carrying Kate Winslet and Idris Elba's characters as the pilot suffers a stroke mid-flight.
Cast Away
There are a few Tom Hanks movies on this list, although Cast Away is his most synonymous plane movie. He ends up stranded on an island after his FedEx cargo plane crashes, leading to a moving adventure and iconic friendship with Wilson.
Society of the Snow
Society of the Snow is a 2023 survival drama about Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which hit a glacier in 1972. A Uruguayan rugby football team was forced to live in the unforgiving Andes Mountains, eventually resorting to cannibalism to stay alive.
Fight Club
Fight Club is a cult classic from this list, which tells the story of Tyler Durden's descent into madness and therapy. The narrator speaks to Tyler for the first time on a plane, after having terrifying visions of a midair collision as well as a sobering conversation about plane safety that's nightmare fuel for nervous flyers.
World War Z
World War Z is an apocalypse movie, with Brad Pitt's Mitch Buchannon trying to survive a never-ending supply of zombies One of the movie's most chilling scenes is set in a plane, where zombies cause all sorts of claustrophobic chaos to ill-fated passengers.
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a beloved Disney/Pixar movie, but there's one sequence that's not exactly ideal for nervous flyers. The villainous Syndrome shoots Elastigirl and the kids out of the sky, and it's only their superpowers that save them from doom.
Flight 666
Flight 666 is a 2018 independent horror movie that is truly the thing of nightmares for nervous flyers. It follows as a zombie outbreaks begins mid-flight, bringing all sorts of chaos for those trying to reach their final destination.
Air Force One
Air Force One is a 1997 hijack movie that shows the titular plane being taken over by bad guys while the President (Harrison Ford) is on board. It's up to the Commander in Chief to save those on board. And while I love the movie it's not exactly what you want to watch mid-flight.
Moon
Moon follows Sam Rockwell's Sam Bell as he finishes his three-year solitary time residing on the far side of the Moon. But the idea of being left alone floating on a ship is one that might be chilling for nervous flyers.
Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down is an acclaimed 2001 film that's considered one of the best war movies of all time. But its storyline is very much inspired by a helicopter going down, which isn't the type of programming one wants to watch when on a plane.
Con Air
Nicolas Cage's Con Air is one of several movies centered on a plane getting hijacked on this list. While there are parts of Con Air that make no sense it's a classic... just not one that's for folks who hate flying.
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III movie might not be high on the ranking of Jurassic Park movies, but it's got some great things going for it. But there's also a plane crash sequence, so it's probably better to re-watch this movie on the ground.
Passengers
There are a number of space movies on this list, as there is something similar about being lost in space and traveling on a plane for nervous flyers. Passengers hit theaters in 2016 and follows two protagonists (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) who are woken 90 years early from their medically-induced hibernation while traveling to a new planet.
No Way Up
No Way Up is a 2024 thriller that combines two tried and true horror elements: plane crashes and sharks. A group of passengers try to survive as their crashed plane sinks into deep water, and it's truly a nightmare scenario.
Alive
Alive is one of the many survival movies on this particular list. The 1993 flick follows the true story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes with a team of rugby players on board.
Non-Stop
Non-Stop is a Liam Neeson-led thriller that hit theaters back in 2014. The movie ex-NYPD officer turned Federal Air Marshal who is tasked with finding a killer on a flight from New York City to London, and it's not really what you want to watch in the air.
7500
7500 was released in 2019 on Amazon Prime and features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a pilot who is faced with an attempted hijacking situation. For obvious reasons, this is not what nervous fliers will want to watch on a plane.
Alien
Alien is considered one of the best horror movies of all time, but it might not be great on a plane. Just like Ripley is trapped on the Nostromo, it's possible that nervous flyers might feel the same way when watching the movie on a plane.
Airplane! is a classic comedy set on a flight where all sorts of crazy shenanigans occur. But as funny as it is (and while some fans may have what-in-the-heck reactions), some of the hi-jinx might be frightening if you're watching it in the air.
Flight
Flight came out in 2012, and revolves around Denzel Washington's Captain William "Whip" Whitaker, who is an alcoholic pilot to manages to crash land his aircraft. Those scenes, as well as the idea that the man flying a plane might be intoxicated, are sure to be anxiety-inducing for folks who hate flying.
Turbulence
Turbulence hit theaters in 1997, and even its poster is enough to strike fear into nervous flyers. There are mid-flight shootouts, an emergency landing, and all sorts of things that you'd never want to experience IRL.
Wall-E
Wall-E is one of the best Pixar movies and a personal favorite of mine. But watching it on a flight might not be ideal, especially as passengers are essentially trapped in their chairs like the humans in the movie's story.
Fearless
1993's Fearless is a movie featuring one of Kurt Russell's best performances. But the movie opens on a terrifying plane crash sequence that's definitely not meant for folks who are scared of or hate flying.
