Arthur Hailey’s "Airport" Summary

Written in 1968, the novel is a classic industrial novel, depicting with near-documentary accuracy the hidden workings of the vast, fictional Lincoln International Airport in Illinois during a devastating January snowstorm. The 1970 film adaptation, directed by George Seaton and starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin, achieved colossal commercial success and received ten Academy Award nominations. The work is not part of a series and remains a standalone novel.

Buran and crisis on the airfield

A brutal snowstorm has been raging over the US Midwest for three days now. Lincoln International Airport is operating at capacity. The situation escalates when a 120-ton AeroMexican Airlines Boeing 707 skids off the concrete while taxiing and becomes deeply stuck in the snow-covered, muddy ground. The plane completely blocks runway 3-0, the airport’s longest and widest.

Airport Manager Mel Bakersfeld coordinates the ground crews’ work. Air traffic controllers are forced to divert planes to alternate runways, forcing takeoffs directly over the nearby suburb of Meadowwood. A constant stream of calls from angry residents, plagued by the deafening roar of the engines, pour in. Meanwhile, the Anaconda snow removal crew is gruelingly clearing the runways, and AeroMexican management is calling in master mechanic Joe Patroni from his home in hopes of moving the stuck plane.

Chaos reigns in the overcrowded airport terminal. Flights are delayed en masse, and waiting rooms are packed with thousands of tired passengers. TransAmerica Airlines customer service agent Tanya Livingston mediates endless conflicts and calms her tearful subordinates.

Family discord and old traumas

Mel Bakersfeld is torn between his professional duties and family troubles. His marriage to former actress Cindy has long been on the rocks. His wife accuses him of being indifferent to social life and demands he attend a charity dinner. His eldest daughter, Roberta, is estranged from her father, and only little seven-year-old Libby provides Mel with genuine warmth. Meeting Tanya Livingston at a café, Mel realizes their mutual attraction is blossoming into something deeper.

Meanwhile, Mel’s son-in-law, the arrogant airship commander Vernon Dimirest, is preparing for nonstop flight number two, the "Golden Argos," to Rome. Dimirest is conducting a skills test on the experienced pilot Anson Harris. Before departure, Vernon visits senior flight attendant Gwen Meighen, with whom he is secretly involved. Gwen informs Dimirest of her pregnancy. The pilot suggests an abortion abroad, but the woman is hesitant.

Mel’s younger brother, Case Bakersfeld, is on duty in the radar department of the control room. A year and a half ago, a tragic accident occurred in Leesburg: a military jet rammed a light private car, killing the Redfern family. Although the commission found Case innocent, guilt overwhelmed him. Deeply depressed, Case secretly rented a room at a local hotel and firmly resolved to commit suicide after his shift ended by overdosing on sleeping pills.

The Desperate Builder’s Plan

In a dilapidated apartment on the outskirts of the city, former construction contractor D. O. Guerrero assembles a homemade bomb. Having failed in his business and finding himself on the brink of prison and poverty, he decides to blow himself up in mid-air to secure his wife Ines’s insurance money. Having pawned his wife’s last ring, Guerrero buys a Transamerica ticket to Rome on credit and assembles explosives from three sticks of dynamite in an ordinary carry-on suitcase. The plan is simple: detonate the bomb over the ocean, causing the debris to sink to the bottom, preventing forensic experts from proving sabotage.

At the same time, a violent protest against engine noise is taking place in Meadowwood. Self-serving lawyer Elliot Freemantle skillfully whips up the crowd’s anger, promises an easy victory in court, and collects paid legal contracts from hundreds of homeowners. After the protest, Freemantle leads the agitated residents directly to the airport terminal for a public demonstration.

Returning home, Inés Guerrero finds her husband’s farewell note and a plane ticket receipt. Sensing impending disaster, she rushes to the airport by taxi, paying her last money for the ride.

Runway collision

Joe Patroni finally makes it to the airfield through snowdrifts. He and his workers begin digging trenches in front of the stuck AeroMexican’s landing gear. The first attempt to free the plane using its own engines fails: the Mexican pilot, alarmed by the G-forces, shuts down the engines, causing the plane to sink even deeper.

Guerrero arrives at the airport just before his flight. At the insurance company counter, he scrapes together his last coins and takes out a three-hundred-thousand-dollar policy for his wife. Customs inspector Harry Standish notices his suspicious nervousness and his briefcase. The inspector shares his doubts with Tanya Livingston.

Tanya puts the facts together: the passenger checked in without luggage, bought a huge insurance policy with his last pennies, and his wife is wandering around the departure lounge in tears. Mel Bakersfeld realizes there may be an explosive device on board Flight 2.

At that moment, the Meadowood crowd, led by Fremantle, bursts into the terminal building. Mel comes out to the crowd and calmly explains the technical realities of aviation development. He openly denounces Fremantle’s greed, explaining to residents that the lawyer is profiting from their misfortune and misleading them with empty promises. Realizing his manipulation, the people back away from the lawyer.

Meanwhile, a regular stowaway, elderly Mrs. Ada Quonsett from San Diego, manages to sneak aboard the Rome flight. Guerrero also manages to snag a window seat. The plane takes off at 11:13 PM.

Explosion on board the airliner

After receiving an urgent radio message from the ground about a bomb, Vernon Dimirest and Anson Harris decide to turn the plane back toward Lake Michigan. The turn is performed smoothly to avoid any suspicion on the passengers’ part.

Dimirest decides to involve Mrs. Quonsett, who is seated next to Guerrero. Flight attendant Gwen Meighen stages a scene in front of the cabin, demanding a ticket from the stowaway. As arranged, the old woman grabs Guerrero, screaming for help, and Gwen snatches his briefcase. However, vigilant passenger Marcus Rasbone, determined to stand up for the man, forcibly takes the briefcase from the flight attendant and returns it to the terrorist.

Guerrero runs screaming toward the aft toilets. Dimirest tries to persuade him to surrender, explaining that his insurance is void. But a stray shout from one of the passengers frightens the bomber, and Guerrero locks himself in the stall. Gwen manages to get her foot in the door, just as the bomber pulls the pin.

The explosion kills Guerrero, seriously injures Gwen, and blows out a section of the fuselage skin near the rear door. The plane immediately loses pressurization. Air rushes through the hole with a roar, carrying away belongings. The temperature drops to -40 degrees Celsius. Pilot Anson Harris performs exemplary maneuvers: he dons an oxygen mask, puts the damaged plane into a steep dive, and levels out at 3,000 meters, saving the passengers from oxygen deprivation. Dr. Milton Compagno, who was among the passengers, fights to save the bleeding Gwen.

The fight for salvation and return

The damaged plane is flying back to Lincoln International Airport. Its rudder is damaged and its stabilizer is jammed. With heavy tanks full of unspent fuel, a landing is only possible on Runway 30. On the short Runway 25, the crippled airliner will inevitably crash.

Mel Bakersfeld realizes that if the stuck Mexican airliner doesn’t clear the runway, disaster is inevitable. Mel calls in powerful graders and Oshkosh snowplows, ordering them to ram and crush the stuck plane if it isn’t moved within minutes.

Joe Patroni himself climbs into the cockpit of the stuck Mexican Boeing. Ignoring the final order to shut down the engines, Patroni revs the engines to their maximum afterburners, rocks the aircraft, and literally rips the 120-ton airliner out of the mud, clearing runway 30.

Flight 2, piloted by Harris and Dimirest, emerges from the snowy shroud as it approaches landing. Keith Bakersfeld sits at the control console in the radar room. Overcoming panic paralysis and overwhelming despair, Keith flawlessly navigates his brother’s plane using instruments. The plane touches down at high speed, brakes with the last of its strength, and comes to a stop at the very edge of the snowdrifts.

The wounded, including Gwen, are hastily taken away by ambulances. Vernon Dimirest decides to acknowledge his unborn child and not leave his girlfriend. Keith Bakersfeld, realizing the guilt has lifted, throws the deadly pills into the snow and returns home to his wife, Natalie. Cindy announces to Mel her irrevocable decision to separate. Mel is left alone with Tanya Livingston, and the storm finally subsides over the cleared airport.