Editing Airport (1970 film)

{{short description|1970 film by George Seaton}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Airport
| image          = Airport film.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[George Seaton]]
| producer       = [[Ross Hunter]]
| screenplay     = George Seaton
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Airport (Hailey novel)|Airport]]''|[[Arthur Hailey]]}}
| starring       = 
{{plainlist|
* [[Burt Lancaster]]
* [[Dean Martin]]
* [[Jean Seberg]]
* [[Jacqueline Bisset]]
* [[George Kennedy]]
* [[Helen Hayes]]
* [[Van Heflin]]
* [[Maureen Stapleton]]
* [[Barry Nelson]]
* [[Lloyd Nolan]]
* [[Dana Wynter]]
* [[Barbara Hale]]
}}
| music          = [[Alfred Newman]]
| cinematography = [[Ernest Laszlo]]
| editing        = [[Stuart Gilmore]]
| color_process  = [[Technicolor]]
| studio         = Ross Hunter Productions
| distributor    = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released       = {{film date|1970|3|05|New York}}<ref name=AFI/>
| runtime        = 137 minutes
| language       = English
| country        = United States
| budget         = $10.2&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite news|title=Freddie Fan of Filmdom Finds Lost Audience: The Lost Audience Discovered|author=Warga, Wayne|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 21, 1970|page=q1}}</ref>
| gross          = $128.4&nbsp;million
}}

'''''Airport''''' is a 1970 American [[disaster film|air disaster]]–[[drama film]] written and directed by [[George Seaton]] and starring [[Burt Lancaster]] and [[Dean Martin]].<ref name="Airport">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19875/airport|title=Airport|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=February 29, 2016|archive-date=March 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312112453/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19875/Airport/|url-status=live}}</ref> Based on [[Arthur Hailey]]'s [[Airport (Hailey novel)|1968 novel]], it originated the 1970s [[disaster film]] genre.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the American Cinema|author=Harpole, Charles|date=15 March 2002|pages=251–252|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23265-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HVygqYMVP2wC&pg=PA251|access-date=27 June 2015|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427050349/https://books.google.com/books?id=HVygqYMVP2wC&pg=PA251|url-status=live}}</ref> It is also the first of four films in the [[Airport (film series)|''Airport'' film series]]. Produced on a $10&nbsp;million budget, it earned over $128&nbsp;million. The supporting cast features [[Jean Seberg]], [[Jacqueline Bisset]], [[George Kennedy]], [[Helen Hayes]], [[Van Heflin]], [[Maureen Stapleton]], [[Barry Nelson]], [[Lloyd Nolan]], [[Dana Wynter]] and [[Barbara Hale]].

The film is about an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a snowstorm, while a suicide bomber plots to blow up a [[Boeing 707]] airliner in flight. It takes place at fictional Lincoln International Airport near [[Chicago]]. The film was a commercial success and surpassed ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' as [[Universal Pictures]]' biggest moneymaker.<ref name="Universal City">{{cite book |last1=Link |first1=Tom |title=Universal City-North Hollywood: A Centennial Portrait |year=1991 |publisher=Windsor Publications |location=Chatsworth, California |isbn=0-89781-393-6 |page=87}}</ref> The movie won Helen Hayes an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for her role as an elderly stowaway and was nominated for nine other Academy Awards, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] for [[Ernest Laszlo]], and [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] for designer [[Edith Head]].

With attention paid to the detail of day-to-day airport and airline operations, the plot concerns the response to a paralyzing snowstorm, environmental concerns over [[noise pollution]], and an attempt to blow up an airliner. The film is characterized by personal stories intertwining while decisions are made minute-by-minute by the airport and airline staffs, operations and maintenance crews, flight crews, and [[Federal Aviation Administration]] air traffic controllers.

[[Ernest Laszlo]] photographed it in 70&nbsp;mm [[Todd-AO]]. It is the last film scored by [[Alfred Newman]] and the last film roles of [[Van Heflin]] and [[Jessie Royce Landis]]. It was also Ross Hunter's last film produced for Universal after a 17-year tenure.

==Plot==
During a severe January snowstorm at Chicago's fictional Lincoln International Airport, Trans Global Airlines (TGA) Flight 45's crew misjudge their turn from Runway 29 onto the taxiway. The [[Boeing 707]] aircraft gets stuck in the snow, and its tail sticking out results in that runway's closure. Airport manager Mel Bakersfeld is forced to work overtime, causing tension with his wife. A divorce seems imminent as he nurtures a closer relationship with a co-worker, customer relations agent Tanya Livingston.

Pilot Vernon Demerest is scheduled to evaluate Captain Anson Harris during TGA Flight 2 to Rome, aboard the airline's flagship international service - ''The Golden Argosy''. Despite being married to Bakersfeld's sister, Demerest is having an affair with Gwen Meighen, chief stewardess on the flight, who informs him before takeoff that she is pregnant with his child. They consider abortion, but Gwen has moral qualms about such a procedure and expresses the excitement she felt upon being told of her pregnancy.

Bakersfeld calls in senior mechanic Joe Patroni to assist with removing the snowstuck plane. He and Tanya also deal with Ada Quonsett, an elderly widow from [[San Diego]] who is a habitual [[stowaway]] on various airlines. Bakersfeld also clashes with commissioner Ackerman, who wishes to close the alternate runway 22 (and thus the entire airport) due to noise complaints from nearby residents.

Former [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] demolition expert Dominic (D.O.) Guerrero, who has a history of [[mental illness]], buys both a ticket aboard Flight 2 and a large life insurance policy, intending to commit suicide. He plans to set off a bomb in an attaché case while they fly over the Atlantic Ocean so that his wife, Inez, will collect $225,000 of insurance. His erratic behavior at the airport, including mistaking a [[U.S. Customs|Customs]] officer for a gate agent, attracts officials' attention. Inez finds a Special Delivery envelope from a travel agency and, realizing D.O. might be doing something desperate, goes to the airport to try to dissuade him. She informs officials that he had been fired from a construction job for "misplacing" explosives and that the family's financial situation is dire.

Ada Quonsett manages to evade the employee assigned the task of putting her on a flight back to Los Angeles. Enchanted by the idea of a trip to Rome, she talks her way past the gate agent, boards Flight 2 and sits next to Guerrero. When Flight 2's crew is made aware of Guerrero's situation, they turn the plane back toward Chicago without informing the passengers. Once the stowaway widow is discovered, her help is enlisted by the crew --- with the promise to her of a free lifetime travel-voucher --- to get to the briefcase, but the ploy fails.

Demerest tries to persuade Guerrero not to trigger the bomb, informing him that his insurance policy has been nullified. Guerrero moves to give Demerest the bomb, but then runs into the lavatory and sets it off, dying and blowing a three-foot hole in the rear fuselage. Gwen and some other passengers are seriously injured in the explosion and subsequent [[explosive decompression]], but the pilots retain control of the 707. However, flight control is severely hindered due to the blast damage.

With all eastern airports closed due to bad weather, Flight 2 returns to Lincoln for an [[emergency landing]]. Demerest knows that a fatal crash landing would happen if they attempt to land on the shorter Runway 22, and thus demands the airport's longest runway, Runway 29, which is still closed due to the stuck airliner. Bakersfeld orders that plane be sacrificed and forcibly pushed off by snowplows. However, Patroni goes ahead and manages to free the stuck aircraft without damage by defying the specified engine and structural limit requirements, allowing Runway 29 to be reopened just in time for the crippled Flight 2 to land. His assistant declares that the feat was "impossible" according to the manual, to which Patroni replies "That's one nice thing about the 707. It can do everything but read."

As the passengers exit, a tearful Inez apologizes for her husband's actions. Demerest's wife sees him accompanying Gwen's stretcher as he intends to go with Gwen to the hospital. Demerest has by now decided he wants her to go through with her pregnancy. Ada Quonsett enjoys her reward of free first-class travel on TGA. Bakersfeld and Tanya leave together, heading to her apartment for "rest" and breakfast.

==Cast==
<!--- Cast and order per 13 "Starring" and 5 "Co-starring" (lengthy 18 total) in tombstone opening credits, "Starring" roles per closing credits scroll, "Co-starring" roles per dialogue --->
{{castlist|
* [[Burt Lancaster]] as Mel Bakersfeld, airport manager at Lincoln International Airport near [[Chicago]]
* [[Dean Martin]] as Vernon Demerest, [[checkride]] captain on Trans Global Airlines (TGA) Flight 2, Bakersfeld's brother-in-law
* [[Jean Seberg]] as Tanya Livingston, head customer relations agent for TGA, widow, Bakersfeld's future love interest 
* [[Jacqueline Bisset]] as Gwen Meighen, chief stewardess on TGA Flight 2
* [[George Kennedy]] as Joe Patroni, chief mechanic for Trans World Airlines (TWA) at Lincoln International, on temporary loan to Trans Global Airlines at the request of airport manager Bakersfeld to help with the current crisis
* [[Helen Hayes]] as Ada Quonsett, an elderly stowaway
* [[Van Heflin]] as D. O. Guerrero, failed contractor, and bomber on TGA Flight 2 (Heflin's final theatrical film role)
* [[Maureen Stapleton]] as Inez Guerrero, wife of D.O. Guerrero
* [[Barry Nelson]] as Anson Harris, captain on TGA Flight 2
* [[Dana Wynter]] as Cindy, Bakersfeld's wife
* [[Lloyd Nolan]] as Harry Standish, head of the [[U.S. Customs Service]] at the airport
* [[Barbara Hale]] as Sarah, Bakersfeld's sister, Demerest's wife
* [[Gary Collins (actor)|Gary Collins]] as Cy Jordan, [[flight engineer]] on TGA Flight 2
* John Findlater as Peter Coakley, a TGA gate agent, assigned to escort Mrs. Quonsett
* [[Jessie Royce Landis]] as Mrs. Mossman, an arriving passenger trying to sneak items through U.S. Customs (Landis' final theatrical film role)
* [[Larry Gates]] as Ackerman, head of the Lincoln Airport Board of Commissioners
* [[Peter Turgeon]] as Marcus Rathbone, a caustic and interfering passenger
* [[Whit Bissell]] as Mr. Davidson,  passenger seated beside Mrs. Quonsett
}}

==Production==
Most of the filming was at [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport]]. A display in the terminal, with stills from the field and the film, says: "Minnesota's legendary winters attracted Hollywood here in 1969, when portions of the film ''Airport'' were shot in the terminal and on the field. The weather remained stubbornly clear, however, forcing the director to use plastic 'snow' to create the appropriate effect."

Seaton caught pneumonia Christmas Day in 1968 and [[Henry Hathaway]] took over directing while Seaton recovered, directing all of the exteriors; despite shooting for five weeks, Hathaway elected for no payment.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=February 12, 1969|page=4|title=Seaton Partly Active|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1969-02-12_253_13/page/n3/mode/1up?view=theater|access-date=May 6, 2024|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_take-one_september-october-1974_5_1/page/n11/mode/1up | title=Take One September–October 1974: Vol 5 Iss 1 | date=1974 | publisher=Take One, Incorporated }}</ref>

The expensive set built representing the full interior of the 707 was left standing at [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], and was eventually joined with a more expensive airliner set, the front half of a 747-interior constructed in 1974 for ''[[Airport 1975]]''.  These two sets became known as "Stage 747" on the lot, and both sets were used extensively in other Universal films and television series. The 707 set was used, for instance, in [[The Andromeda Strain (film)|''The Andromeda Strain'']] and on series like [[Ironside (1967 TV series)|''Ironside'']]. The sets were amortized over these many productions, and later removed around 2002 and the space converted into a workshop.

Only one [[Boeing 707]] was used: a model 707-349C ([[Aircraft registration|registration]] {{Airreg|N|324F}}) leased from [[Flying Tiger Line]]. It sported an [[El Al]] [[cheatline]] over its bare metal finish, with the fictional Trans Global Airlines (TGA) titles and tail. This aircraft later crashed on March 21, 1989 during approach into [[São Paulo]] while in service as cargo flight [[Transbrasil Flight 801]], killing all three crew members and 22 people on the ground.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890321-0 | title=Accident description PT-TCS | publisher=Aviation Safety Network | access-date=14 July 2011 | archive-date=12 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012150856/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19890321-0 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Release==
''Airport'' was released on March 5, 1970 at New York's [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref name=AFI>{{AFI film|23500}}</ref>

==Reception==

===Box office===
The film grossed $235,000 in its opening week at Radio City Music Hall, placing seventh at the US box office.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-03-18_258_5/page/13|date=March 18, 1970|page=13}}</ref> It expanded to more cities in its third week of release and went to [[List of 1970 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]] where it stayed for a second week.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-04-08_258_8/page/11|date=April 8, 1970|page=11}}</ref> It returned to number one in its eighth week of release where it again spent two weeks at the top; a feat repeated three weeks later<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-05-06_258_12/page/11|date=May 6, 1970|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-05-27_259_2/page/11|date=May 27, 1970|page=11}}</ref> After 12 weeks of release, it had grossed $9.5 million, including $2.6 million at Radio City Music Hall.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=$9,510,729 U.S. Gross To Date!|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-06-10_259_4/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater|date=June 10, 1970|pages=9–11}}</ref> It returned again to the top spot in its 17th and 19th week of release for a total of eight weeks at number one.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-07-08_259_8/page/11|date=July 8, 1970|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1970-07-22_259_10/page/11|date=July 22, 1970|page=11}}</ref>

By the end of the year, it was the highest-grossing film of the year with [[theatrical rental]]s of $37.7 million in the United States and Canada and the seventh highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada of all-time.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Big Rental Films of 1970 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1971-01-06_261_8/page/11/mode/1up|date=January 6, 1971|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=All-Time Box Office Champs|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1971-01-06_261_8/page/12/mode/1up|date=January 6, 1971|page=12}}</ref> Universal claimed that it was the highest-grossing film without a [[roadshow release]] of all-time.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=1...all from Universal (advertisement)|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1971-01-13_261_9/page/36/mode/2up|date=January 13, 1971|pages=36–37}}</ref>

It went on to gross $100,489,151 in the United States and Canada, which, adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|100.489151|1970}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}}.<ref name="Box Office Mojo">{{Mojo title | id=airport | title=Airport}}</ref> Internationally, it grossed $27.9&nbsp;million for a worldwide gross of $128.4&nbsp;million.<ref name=foreign>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Daily Variety]] |title=Universal's Foreign Champs|date=February 6, 1990 |page=122}}</ref>

===Critical response===
''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Based on the novel by Arthur Hailey, over-produced by Ross Hunter with a cast of stars as long as a jet runway, and adapted and directed by George Seaton in a glossy, slick style, ''Airport'' is a handsome, often dramatically involving $10 million epitaph to a bygone brand of filmmaking" but added that the film "does not create suspense because the audience knows how it's going to end."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/airport-1200422292/|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Film reviews: Airport|date=1970|access-date=July 22, 2019|archive-date=July 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722211352/https://variety.com/1969/film/reviews/airport-1200422292/|url-status=live}}</ref>[[Boxoffice]] praised the film's strong production values, excellent cast, and potential to be very popular but foresaw that other critics' opinions would not be universally favourable.<ref>https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/29864529/boxoffice-february231970 Boxoffice, February 23, 1970, Feature Reviews, p.11</ref>  Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] gave ''Airport'' one of its worst contemporary reviews, scornfully dismissing it as "bland entertainment of the old school."<ref name="Kael">{{Cite book |last=Kael |first=Pauline |author-link=Pauline Kael |title=5001 Nights at the Movies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4LzeUZ03vQC |year=2011 |orig-year=1991 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |isbn=978-1-250-03357-4 |page=12 |access-date=2016-11-02 |archive-date=2017-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214220331/https://books.google.com/books?id=w4LzeUZ03vQC |url-status=live }}</ref> "There's no electricity in it", she wrote; "every stereotyped action is followed by a stereotyped reaction."<ref name="Kael"/> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film two stars out of four and faulted a predictable plot and characters that "talk in regulation B-movie clichés like no B-movie you've seen in ten years."<ref name="Roger Ebert">{{cite news |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/1010301/1023 |title=Ebert's review of 'Airport' |access-date=2009-08-31 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |archive-date=2013-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309234742/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19700101%2FREVIEWS%2F1010301%2F1023 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and reported that while the theater audience cheered at the climax, "it's a long and torturous road to the applause. Blocking the path are speeches that promote the industry, dialog that ranks among the silliest in memory, and a labored plot that tells you everything twice.<ref>Siskel, Gene (March 25, 1970). "Airport". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 2, p. 6.</ref> [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "an immensely silly film—and it will probably entertain people who no longer care very much about movies."<ref>Canby, Vincent (March 6, 1970). "[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0DEFDB1638EE34BC4E53DFB566838B669EDE The Screen: Multi-Plot, Multi-Star 'Airport' Opens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102005806/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0DEFDB1638EE34BC4E53DFB566838B669EDE |date=2013-11-02 }}". ''[[The New York Times]]''. 34.</ref> [[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called the film "breath-taking in its celebration of anything which used to work when Hollywood was younger and we were all more innocent."<ref>Champlin, Charles (March 21, 1970). "'Airport' Recalls Older Hollywood". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part II, p. 7.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "a lousy movie" that was "utterly predictable."<ref>Arnold, Gary (March 24, 1970). "Lousy 'Airport'". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B6.</ref> ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote, "Corny is really the only word for this unbelievably old-fashioned look at the modern phenomenon of an international airport: the one surprise is that the sweet old white-haired stowaway doesn't spring to the controls and bring the distressed aircraft down single-handed as [[Julie (1956 film)|Doris Day did]] once upon a time in analogous circumstances."<ref>{{cite journal |date=June 1970 |title=Airport |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=37 |issue=437 |pages=126–127 }}</ref>

[[Christopher Null]] wrote in 2000, "With one grandiose entrance, ''Airport'' ushered in a genre of moviemaking that is still going strong—the disaster movie... Too bad the 'disaster' doesn't happen until 2 hours into the 2:15 movie. No matter—''Airport''{{'}}s unending sequels and spoofs are a testament that this film is a true piece of Americana, for good or for bad."<ref name="filmcritic">{{cite web |url=http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Airport |work=Filmcritic.com |title=Airport |access-date=2009-08-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202220109/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Airport |archive-date=2010-02-02 }}</ref> Despite the film being one of the most profitable of Burt Lancaster's career, he called it "a piece of junk."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Montreal Gazette]]|date=March 8, 1971|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19710308&id=uJgkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oqAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3906,1786621|title=Airport 'junk' – Lancaster|access-date=June 27, 2015|archive-date=April 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426212652/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19710308&id=uJgkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oqAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3906,1786621|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Stafford, Jeff|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19875/airport#articles-reviews?articleId=66927|title=Airport|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|access-date=2024-10-24}}</ref>

Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 75%, based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/airport/ |title=Airport (1970) |access-date=July 10, 2022 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-date=April 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430124223/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/airport |url-status=live }}</ref>  On Metacritic, the film holds an average rating of 42/100, based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{Citation|title=Airport|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/airport|access-date=2018-11-03|archive-date=2020-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215195735/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/airport|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="10"| [[43rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Ross Hunter]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="10"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971 |title=The 43rd Academy Awards (1971) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2011-08-27 |work=oscars.org |archive-date=2015-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402003910/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1971 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Helen Hayes]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Maureen Stapleton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| [[George Seaton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Best Art Direction]]
| Art Direction: [[Alexander Golitzen]] and [[E. Preston Ames]]; <br /> Set Decoration: [[Jack D. Moore]] and [[Mickey S. Michaels]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Ernest Laszlo]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| [[Edith Head]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Stuart Gilmore]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| [[Alfred Newman]]{{efn|Posthumous nomination.}}
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| [[Ronald Pierce (sound engineer)|Ronald Pierce]] and [[David H. Moriarty]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic|Best Edited Feature Film]]
| Stuart Gilmore
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[24th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
| Maureen Stapleton
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1971/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1971 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1966 |access-date=16 September 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1966}}}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[28th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/airport |title=Airport – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1971}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| [[George Kennedy]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Maureen Stapleton
| {{won}}{{efn|Tied with [[Karen Black]] for ''[[Five Easy Pieces]]''.}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score – Motion Picture]]
| Alfred Newman
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Motion Picture Sound Editors|Golden Reel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR for Feature Film|Best Sound Editing – Dialogue]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[13th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Best Instrumental Composition]]
| "''Airport'' Love Theme" – Alfred Newman
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/13th-annual-grammy-awards |title=13th Annual GRAMMY Awards |publisher=Grammy.com| access-date=1 May 2011}}</ref>
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special]]
| Alfred Newman
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
| {{draw|5th place}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| 
|-
| Top Male Supporting Performance
| George Kennedy
| {{nom}}
|-
| Top Female Supporting Performance
| Helen Hayes
| {{won}}
|-
| Top Composer
| Alfred Newman
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[23rd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Drama – Adapted from Another Medium]]
| George Seaton
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=wga.org |publisher=Writers Guild of America |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05 |access-date=2010-06-06}}</ref>
|}

===Television===
The film was first broadcast on Canada's [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] on October 24, 1973, nearly a month before [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] on November 11. The ABC broadcast became the joint highest-rated film on television, matching ''[[Love Story (1970 film)|Love Story]]'', with a [[Nielsen rating]] of 42.3 but with a slightly higher audience share of 63% (compared to ''Love Story'''s 62%).<ref name=rating>{{cite magazine|title=Hit Movies on U.S. TV Since 1961|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=January 24, 1990|page=160}}</ref> The record was beaten in 1976 by ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.<ref name=rating/>

==Score==
The film was the final project for composer [[Alfred Newman]]. His health was failing and he was unable to conduct the sessions for his music's recording. The job was handled by Stanley Wilson, although the covers of the Decca "original soundtrack album" and the 1993 [[Varèse Sarabande]] CD issue credit Newman. Newman did conduct the music heard in the film.{{Citation needed|reason=contradicts previous sentences|date=February 2016}} He died before the film's release. Newman received his 45th Academy Award nomination posthumously for this film, the most received by a composer at that time.

==Soundtrack==
* From the soundtrack, the instrumental, "Airport Love Theme" by [[Vincent Bell]] peaked at number thirty-one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart and number two for three weeks on the [[Adult contemporary (chart)|''Billboard'' Adult contemporary]] chart.<ref>{{cite book |title=Top Adult contemporary: 1961–2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=31}}</ref>

===Track listing===
# Airport (Main Title) (3:11)
# Airport Love Theme (3:30)
# Inez' Theme (1:29)
# Guerrero's Goodbye (2:37)
# Ada Quonsett, Stowaway (1:26)
# Mel And Tanya (2:27)
# Airport Love Theme #2 (2:40)
# Joe Patroni Plane Or Plows? (2:22)
# Triangle! (3:50)
# Inez-Lost Forever (1:45)
# Emergency Landing! (1:38)
# Airport (End Title) (2:36)

===Personnel===
*[[Bud Shank]] – reeds<ref name="loc.gov">{{cite web |title=Airport |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200013071/ |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>
*[[Carol Kaye]] – [[electric bass]]<ref name="loc.gov"/>
*Bill Plummer – [[double bass]]<ref name="loc.gov"/>
*[[Dennis Budimir]], [[Howard Roberts]], [[Joe Cinderella]], [[Tommy Tedesco]] – [[guitar]]<ref name="loc.gov"/>

==Sequels==
''Airport'' had [[Airport (film series)|three sequels]], the first two of which were hits.
* ''[[Airport 1975]]''
* ''[[Airport '77]]''
* ''[[The Concorde ... Airport '79]]'' (titled ''Airport '80: The Concorde'' in the United Kingdom & Japan)

The only actor to appear in all four films is [[George Kennedy]] as Joe Patroni. Patroni's character evolves and he goes from a chief mechanic in ''Airport'' to a vice president of operations in ''Airport 1975'', a consultant in ''Airport '77'', and an experienced pilot in ''The Concorde ... Airport '79''.

==See also==
* ''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]'', a 1954 film which served as the template for ''Airport''
* ''[[Zero Hour!]]'', a 1957 film written by Arthur Hailey that visited the airline disaster film genre a decade before Hailey published ''Airport''
* ''[[Jet Storm]]'', a 1959 British film with many similarities
* ''[[Airplane!]]'' (1980), a successful parody film that blended elements of an already well-established airline disaster film genre, including plot points inspired by ''Airport '75'' as well as ''Zero Hour!''
* ''[[Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land]]'', a 1983 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television movie, starring Lee Majors. Also known as ''Starflight One'' or ''Airport 85''.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{AFI film|23500}}
* {{IMDb title|0065377|Airport}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|airport|Airport}}
* {{TCMDb title|19875|Airport}}
* [<!--http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?cnsearch=19354/503&distinct_entry=true-->https://archive.today/20130221044758/http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?cnsearch=19354/503&distinct_entry=true Airliners.net ''Photos of the aircraft used in the film'']
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Airport-film-by-Seaton ''Airport''], su [[Encyclopædia Britannica|''Enciclopedia Britannica'']], Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc
* ''[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0065377/ Airport]'', su ''[[Box Office Mojo]]'', IMDb.com.

{{Airport}}
{{Ross Hunter}}
{{George Seaton}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airport (1970 Film)}}
[[Category:1970 films]]
[[Category:1970 drama films]]
[[Category:1970 thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s disaster films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:Airport (film series)]]
[[Category:American aviation films]]
[[Category:American disaster films]]
[[Category:American thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about aviation accidents or incidents]]
[[Category:Films about stowaways]]
[[Category:Films based on thriller novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Arthur Hailey]]
[[Category:Films directed by George Seaton]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Ross Hunter]]
[[Category:Films scored by Alfred Newman]]
[[Category:Films set in Chicago]]
[[Category:Films set in airports]]
[[Category:Films set on airplanes]]
[[Category:Films shot in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language thriller films]]