Steven Spielberg’s tale of a man stranded in an airport needed an airport that could be controlled down to the last gate – so the production built one. The Terminal’s vast concourse is a full-scale set, constructed inside a hangar in the California desert.
Where was The Terminal filmed?
The film’s terminal was a giant set built inside a hangar at Palmdale in the California desert (at the USAF Plant 42 site), with airport exteriors shot at Montreal-Mirabel airport in Canada and the ending filmed in New York‘s Times Square.
Every location, explained
Palmdale – the terminal set
Rather than disrupt a working airport, Spielberg’s team built a complete, functioning terminal – shops, gates and all – inside a hangar at Palmdale in the Los Angeles County desert. It’s the film’s entire world.
Montreal-Mirabel – the exteriors
The airport exteriors, runways and aircraft used the underused Montreal-Mirabel airport in Canada, which had the space and quiet the production needed.
New York – the ending
Viktor’s final destination takes the film to Times Square in New York for its closing scenes.
Planning a visit
There’s no terminal to visit – it was struck after filming – but the story’s spirit lives at any big airport. The one public location you can stand in is Times Square in New York, where the film ends.
