The movie you are referring to is most likely “The Langoliers,” a horror miniseries based on a Stephen King novella. In this story, a group of airline passengers on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston wake up to find that most of the other passengers have mysteriously disappeared. When they land, they discover that the world around them is completely deserted, with no people present and an eerie lifelessness pervading everything. The environment is strange: matches will not light, sounds have no echo, and food has no taste. The passengers soon realize they are trapped in a strange temporal anomaly where time itself is being consumed by creatures called the Langoliers, who devour everything from the past. The passengers must find a way to escape this empty, silent world before they too are consumed[1].
The plot centers on the survivors trying to understand what has happened and how to get back to their own time. The deserted airport and the absence of any other people create a haunting atmosphere of isolation and suspense. The Langoliers themselves are terrifying entities that symbolize the destruction of the past, adding a supernatural horror element to the story. The miniseries explores themes of time, reality, and survival in a unique and unsettling way.
This story is distinct from other films involving planes and deserted places. For example, “Final Destination” involves a plane crash and survivors being hunted by death but does not feature a world without people after landing[2]. Another film titled “Plane” (2023) involves a pilot forced to land in a war zone but does not depict a deserted world without people[3].
Therefore, if you are thinking of a movie or show where plane passengers land in a world with no people, “The Langoliers” is the most fitting and well-known example. It is notable for its eerie depiction of an empty world and the mysterious forces at play, making it a unique take on the plane passenger survival genre.
