Two years after the events at Nakatomi Plaza, John McClane, now a lieutenant with the LAPD, travels to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve to pick up his wife, Holly, who is flying in to spend the holiday with him. Meanwhile, General Ramon Esperanza, a corrupt foreign military leader involved in drug trafficking, is being extradited to the United States aboard a military plane scheduled to land at Dulles that night. Unbeknownst to the authorities, a group of rogue ex-military operatives led by former Colonel William Stuart plans to intercept Esperanza and aid his escape.
As McClane waits at the airport, he notices two suspicious men entering a restricted baggage area and follows them. A gunfight breaks out, and McClane kills one of the men, while the other escapes. Searching the dead man’s belongings, McClane finds military identification suggesting that he was an American soldier listed as deceased two years earlier. Concerned, McClane contacts his friend, LAPD Sergeant Al Powell, who confirms the man’s suspicious background. McClane reports the incident to airport police chief Carmine Lorenzo and air traffic control director Ed Trudeau, but both dismiss his concerns.
Stuart and his operatives establish a base in an abandoned church near the airport. They seize control of the airport’s communications systems, disabling runway lights and cutting off all contact with incoming flights. Stuart demands that Esperanza’s plane be allowed to land unimpeded and warns against any attempts to interfere. With the airport paralyzed, Trudeau orders all incoming planes to remain in holding patterns, despite some running dangerously low on fuel. McClane becomes increasingly worried about Holly’s plane, which is among those circling above.
McClane enlists the help of Marvin, an eccentric airport janitor, to navigate the facility and gather information. Meanwhile, chief airport engineer Leslie Barnes devises a plan to use an unfinished antenna array to restore communications with the planes. Lorenzo dispatches a SWAT team to accompany Barnes, but Stuart’s men ambush the group, killing the officers and sabotaging the antenna. McClane arrives in time to save Barnes and eliminate Stuart’s operatives.
In retaliation for McClane’s interference, Stuart impersonates air traffic control and deceives a British airliner into following incorrect altitude instructions. This results in the plane crashing into the ground, killing everyone on board. The tragedy horrifies McClane and strengthens his resolve to stop Stuart and his men.
Esperanza’s plane lands safely as per Stuart’s plan, but McClane intercepts it before Stuart’s team arrives. Esperanza attempts to escape, but McClane wounds him. Stuart and his men arrive shortly afterward, overpower McClane, and destroy the plane with explosives, though McClane narrowly escapes with his life. Meanwhile, a special military unit called the Blue Light team, led by Major Grant, arrives to assist. Unknown to McClane, Grant and Stuart have a past connection, with Stuart having served under Grant.
Grant’s team joins McClane in a raid on Stuart’s base at the church. In the ensuing firefight, McClane manages to kill one of Stuart’s men. However, when he gives chase on a snowmobile, his weapon proves ineffective, as it is loaded with blanks. McClane realizes that the firefight was staged and that Grant’s team is secretly collaborating with Stuart.
Stuart, Grant, and their men rendezvous with Esperanza at a hangar where a Boeing 747 awaits to transport them to freedom. Meanwhile, on Holly’s flight, reporter Richard Thornburg becomes suspicious about the plane’s delayed landing. Eavesdropping on cockpit communications, Thornburg overhears a message from Barnes explaining the airport situation and broadcasts it live from the airplane’s lavatory. The broadcast causes panic in the airport terminal, creating chaos that hinders McClane and Lorenzo’s efforts to intercept the 747.
Holly, frustrated with Thornburg’s actions, uses a passenger’s taser to subdue him, preventing further interference. Meanwhile, McClane enlists the help of a news helicopter crew to reach the hangar and intercept the escaping 747. He jumps onto the plane’s wing as it prepares for takeoff and disables the aileron using his coat, preventing the aircraft from becoming airborne.
A brutal fight ensues between McClane and Grant on the wing. McClane gains the upper hand and kicks Grant into one of the plane’s jet engines, killing him instantly. Stuart confronts McClane next, and after a fierce struggle, McClane opens a fuel valve on the wing. Though Stuart manages to kick McClane off the wing, McClane uses a cigarette lighter to ignite the trail of leaking fuel. The resulting explosion destroys the plane, killing Stuart, Esperanza, and the rest of the rogue operatives.
The explosion creates a fire trail on the runway, providing a visual guide for the circling planes to land safely. Holly’s plane is among the first to land, and she reunites with McClane on the runway. As they embrace, Marvin arrives in his airport cart to pick them up and drive them away, leaving the chaos of the airport behind.
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