While Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is flying to New York City, a military coup takes place in his Eastern European country of Krakozhia. At John F. Kennedy International Airport, he is told by the airport's chief officer that his visa, issued by the previous government at home, is not valid, and since the U.S. State Department has refused to recognize the new regime, all flights back to his country have been cancelled. This means that Navorski is for the time being a man without a country. The only solution for this shy and befuddled man is to stay in the international transit lounge until things are resolved in Krakozhia. Navorski makes friends with some of the people who work in the airport and is attracted to a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta Jones) he keeps running into. A very light hearted comedy by Steven Spielberg.

Some have noted that it appears to be inspired by the story of Merhan Karimi Nasseri, nicknamed 'Sir, Alfred', an Iranian refugee who has lived in Terminal One of Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, France since 1988, when his refugee papers were stolen.