In real life, Sean Bean, who plays Captain Rich, is terrified of flying and will do it only when absolutely necessary.
Peter Sarsgaard also admits to having a lifelong fear of flying.
Jodie Foster's role was originally written for Sean Penn. The original character's name of "Kyle" was even kept. Coincedently, Penn's role in The Game (1997) was originally intended for Jodie Foster.
The 35mm prints of this film come from a digital intermediate that has been digitally grain reduced. As a result there are digital grain reduction artifacts visible on all prints.
The cartoon that is played on the monitor when Kyle wakes up is "Kenny the Shark" (2003).