Movie Plot
Viktor Navorski arrives at JFK International Airport, but finds that he cannot leave the airport. While he was en route to the United States, a revolution was started in his home nation of Krakozhia. Due to the civil war, the United States no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a sovereign nation and denies Viktor's entrance to the United States since he technically has no citizenship. Unable to leave the airport or return to Krakozhia, Viktor instead decides to live in the terminal.

Viktor quickly befriends the staff at the terminal, including flight attendant Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones), while being under the watchful eye of Immigration Officer Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), who wants Navorski removed from the airport. Initially being deprived of food by Dixon as a method of trying to get Navorski arrested and made someone else's problem, Navorski takes on the task of retrieving vacant baggage trollies for the 25 cent reward from the machine. He uses this money to buy food from Burger King until eventually Dixon prevents him from collecting. He then makes his first friend, a catering car driver named Enrique (Diego Luna) who asks him to approach a female security officer named Dolores (Zo Saldana) for him in exchange for food. After meeting Amelia and being asked out to dinner, Navorski tries to earn money in order to ask Amelia out instead. He finally gets an off-the-books job as a construction worker at the airport earning $19 per hour.

 

One day, Viktor explains to Amelia that the purpose of his visit to New York is to collect an autograph of the jazz tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. His late father was a jazz enthusiast. He had discovered the "Great Day in Harlem" photograph in a Hungarian newspaper in 1958, and vowed to get an autograph of all the 57 jazz musicians featured on the photograph. A few months later, the news reports that the war in Krakozhia is over, but Dixon will still not allow Viktor to enter the United States. Amelia reveals that she had asked her 'friend', actually a married government official with whom she had long been having an intermittent affair, to assist Viktor in obtaining permission to travel within the US, but Viktor is disappointed to learn she has renewed her relationship with the man during this process. To make matters worse, Dixon needs to sign the form granting Viktor the right to remain in the United States, but refuses, instead deciding to deport him out of spite. Thanks to the timely interference of the friends Viktor has made during his stay in the terminal, he is allowed to leave the airport.

 

As Viktor prepares to take a taxi to the Ramada Inn, 161 Lexington Avenue, in New York, where Benny Golson is performing, he observes Amelia exiting from a cab, where she gives him a wistful smile. He attends the show and collects the autograph, finally completing the collection. Afterwards, Viktor leaves and hails a taxi, telling the driver: 'I am going home.'