Across from a Canadian accountant sits a Bulgarian man doing the crossword. Overhead, the airline announces a delay for their flight; there is blinding fog that requires a recalibration of the aircraft. The accountant learns the Bulgarian is a poet. The accountant surveys the other passengers around him: a Ghanaian woman, a Mongolian child, a Honduran woman.

On the TV, he reads a traffic accident due to the fog causing a chemical spill just outside the airport. Passengers begin to shout about the delay. Meanwhile, the bar runs out of ice and the cafe out of creamer. The airline announces the hotels in the city are full, so the passengers prepare to spend the night. They are given pillows and blankets. The Honduran woman competes in checkers with the Mongolian boy.

By morning, a TV news report warns of a Cholera epidemic spreading through the city. To alleviate tension, a group of Belgian passengers put on a pageant. The flight is told to board, but then delayed again, when suddenly an explosion echoes through the airport: a meteor has crashed into the lobby.

The power goes out, and the garbage and toilets overflow. The next morning, a line of soldiers greets the passengers at the airport entrance and say something about a virus. A Dutch passenger suggests an Olympiad to pass the time. The various groups of nationalities compete. The fog persists and the flight remains grounded.

The next morning, a group of Cuban people divulge their plan to the Canadian: they will hijack the plane. They have a trained pilot, aircraft technician and stewardess. The Cubans and a few others begin their attack, the soldiers firing at them. The plane takes off but explodes when it hits the control tower.

They announce the Cubans took the wrong plane and that the flight will board any minute. At the boarding door, the accountant finds a hot air balloon. He, the Ghanaian woman and the Mongolian boy take flight.