Movies about plane crashes can be a delicate subject regarding inflight entertainment. While airlines offer a wide variety of content to cater to passengers’ tastes, certain films featuring plane crashes or aviation disasters are often avoided or edited due to their potentially unsettling nature.
Often depicting intense, dramatic situations centered around aviation disasters. Some focus on true events, like Sully, which recounts the heroic Hudson River emergency landing, while others, such as Flight, portray fictional, suspenseful tales involving pilots and crashes. These movies typically explore themes of survival, heroism, and human error, but can also evoke anxiety for viewers, particularly when watched during a flight. Airlines often avoid showing such films inflight, or provide trigger warnings, as these themes may be unsettling for passengers.
Latest movies about airplane crashes
|
Movie Title |
Year of Release |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Devotion |
2022 |
Based on true events, a crash involving a Navy pilot in the Korean War. |
|
Plane |
2023 |
An action film where a commercial pilot makes an emergency crash landing on a remote island. |
|
Sully |
2016 |
Recounts the miraculous Hudson River emergency landing. |
|
Flight |
2012 |
A fictional story about a pilot who crash-lands a malfunctioning plane. |
|
7500 |
2019 |
Focuses on an airline hijacking, with tense cockpit scenes. |
Airlines and movie selections
Airlines approach inflight entertainment selection with care, ensuring various options to enhance passenger experiences. According to Vulture, airlines typically license a wide range of movies and TV shows from major studios or specialized distributors like Global Eagle Entertainment. However, the decision to include films with graphic or sensitive content, such as plane crashes, often rests with the airlines.
Photo: Jordan Tan / Shutterstock
For instance, according to the Telegraph,
Delta Air Lines
does not screen movies like Flight (a film about an emergency landing), Sully or Snakes On A Plane. Airlines are cautious about selecting content that may cause discomfort or anxiety among passengers. Airlines like
Virgin Atlantic
tend to take different approaches. This suggests that including such content depends on the airline’s philosophy and passenger base. Virgin Atlantic even emphasized that showing Sully could highlight the pilots’ skill and bravery, offering a positive spin on an otherwise tense film.
|
Airline |
Film Title |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Delta Air Lines |
None |
Avoids showing films like Flight and Sully |
|
Virgin Atlantic |
Sully |
Features this biographical drama showcasing a heroic emergency landing |
|
British Airways |
Varies (with trigger warnings) |
Provides warnings for movies that contain plane crashes |
The role of trigger warnings
Some airlines use content warnings to mitigate any adverse reactions to potentially unsettling content. For example,
British Airways
recently began adding trigger warnings for movies that depict plane crashes or aviation accidents, according to the Telegraph. This allows passengers to make informed decisions about whether to watch such films.
Photo: Jaromir Chalabala | Shutterstock
In cases where sensitive materials might be included in the inflight entertainment, these warnings provide an extra layer of consideration for passengers who may feel anxious about flying. British Airways acknowledged that while passengers are free to watch, they should be aware of potentially distressing content. This also applies to movies that have content of nudity or profanity. This represents a shift in how airlines acknowledge passenger sensitivities, allowing travelers more control over their viewing experiences.
Censorship and editing
While inflight content is sometimes edited to fit screen sizes, actual censorship of scenes like plane crashes is rare. Airlines do not typically censor movies for mature content such as swearing, violence, or crashes. Instead, they rely on warnings or avoid showing films with such themes altogether. However, passengers are generally given various choices, from family-friendly content to more adult programming.
Photo: United Airlines
Delta Air Lines, for example, has a team responsible for curating its inflight entertainment, ensuring something for everyone. Yet, the airline avoids more controversial aviation-related films, perhaps reflecting its sensitivity to passengers’ anxieties about flying. Virgin Atlantic, on the other hand, offers a more flexible approach, including films like Sully.
Passenger preferences
Passengers themselves have varying opinions about watching films with aviation themes while flying. For some, these films could instill confidence, as they showcase heroic pilots and well-managed crises, as with Sully. Others, however, might find films like Flight unsettling due to their darker, more intense portrayals of disaster.
Photo: Cassiohabib | Shutterstock
According to Afar, frequent flyers like Instagram influencer Nicole Elgin mention that while they might avoid aviation disaster movies, they recognize that these films could have a comforting effect on other passengers. She notes that seeing a well-handled emergency landing, like in Sully, could boost the presence of their flight crew. On the contrary, a film like Flight, which focuses on a pilot’s failings, could increase a sense of unease.
Conclusion: movies about plane crashes are allowed, but with caution
In summary, movies about plane crashes are sometimes allowed on inflight entertainment systems, but their inclusion varies by airline. Some airlines, like Delta, opt to leave such films out of their programming, while others, like Virgin Atlantic, may include them with appropriate context or warnings.
The inclusion of trigger warnings, as seen by British Airways, is becoming a more common practice to allow passengers to make informed choices about the content they consume mid-flight. Ultimately, the decision is guided by a balance between offering a broad selection and being mindful of passengers’ sensitivities.