Stuck in airport limbo - 21st December 2022

The man who inspired the Hollywood film 'The Terminal' has died after suffering a heart attack. Mehran Karimi Nasseri was an Iranian national, who spent 18 years living at the Charles de Gaulle airport in France.

Nasseri ended up in France in 1988 after his documents got stolen. He had hoped to get to Britain as a political refugee but was turned back by British immigration authorities. He got stuck inside the French airport unable to enter France without the correct legal documents.

The airport staff became his main support. They provided food, medical supplies, books and a radio for Nasseri. He set up camp in Terminal 2F with a plastic bench as his home. He also nicknamed himself 'King Alfred' and became world famous.

Authors and filmmakers were interested in his story, including famous filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Nasseri was paid $275,000 for his story to be used in the 2004 film 'The Terminal', which starred Tom Hanks playing the role of Nasseri. However, the story wasn't used in the film in the end.

France decided to allow Nasseri to enter the country as a refugee in 1999. However, Nasseri's lawyers said that he feared leaving the airport.

But in 2006, Nasseri had to leave the airport as he was taken to hospital for an illness. After he was released from hospital, he spent the next few years in a shelter. In September 2022, Nasseri turned up at the airport again where he died of a heart attack.