[1] Ethan Kopek, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer at Los Angeles International Airport, has become cynical and unambitious after failing the police academy for concealing his father's criminal history.

Instead, Ethan requests his supervisor, Phil Sarkowski, assign him to manage a baggage-scanning lane, hoping to demonstrate his merit for a promotion.

During his shift, Ethan receives an earbud, through which he is contacted by a ruthless mercenary, the Traveler, who orders him to let a specific carry-on case pass through the scanner—or Nora will be killed.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detective Elena Cole investigates a double homicide and discovers the victims had smuggled Novichok into the country.

Upon arriving at the airport, Cole confronts Ethan, confirms the active threat, and alerts the LAPD, initiating a terminal shutdown.

Cole uncovers that the Traveler's target is Congresswoman Grace Suarez Turner, a passenger on a flight to Washington, D.C., who advocates for increased weapons funding.

The Novichok attack is designed to implicate Russia, ensuring congressional approval of substantial defense spending, thereby enriching weapons manufacturers.

The Traveler boards the flight, unaware that Ethan has switched the bomb into an identical but larger suitcase, forcing him to stow it in the plane's cargo hold.

Ethan infiltrates the hold to disarm the bomb, while Nora persuades Cole to allow the flight to take off, preventing the Traveler from becoming suspicious.

Before the Traveler can re-arm the Novichok and escape using a parachute, Ethan locks him inside an airtight refrigeration unit with the nerve agent, killing him.

[11] Fixman received extensive expert advice about airport security but deliberately used artistic license with TSA procedures for the sake of the storyline.

The website's consensus reads: "Taron Egerton and an against-type Jason Bateman make for great adversaries in Carry-On, a throwback thriller that clears all checkpoints of plot logic with its confident execution.