Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport for 18 years (Picture: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
Merhan Karimi Nasseri, the real man who inspired Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal, has died in the airport he lived in for 18 years.Â
The Iranian man is believed to have been born in 1945 but became stuck in legal limbo in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France in 1988 after apparently lacking residency papers.Â
He had lived there until 2006 when he was hospitalised and his sitting place had been dismantled, with Nasseri being looked after by the airport’s branch of the French Red Cross after his release from hospital before being housed in a Paris shelter since 2008.
According to local reports, an airport official claimed he had been living back in the airport again in recent weeks until his death just before midday on Saturday.
Nasseri is said to have died of natural causes in Terminal 2F, believed to be a heart attack according to an airport official via AFP, with police and medical workers not being able to save him.
His story inspired Spielberg’s 2004 film The Terminal, in which Tom Hanks played Viktor Navorski, an Eastern European man who gets stuck in a New York airport when he is denied entry but is also unable to return to his native country because of a military coup.
He had moved back into the airport in recent weeks (Picture: DB Isernhagen / Avalon)
Nasseri called himself ‘Sir Alfred’ after his case became known around the world, and claimed a small section of the airport as his home.
Born in Masjed Soleiman, in the Iranian province of Khuzestan, Nasser had travelled to London, Berlin and Amsterdam in a bid to locate his mother, but was turned away from every country he landed in after being unable to produce the correct paperwork.Â
He developed an informal support network at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, with people providing food and medical help for him as well as a radio and books to while away the hours.Â
Nasseri was granted refugee status and the right to remain in France in 1999, but chose not to leave the airport.Â
He said at the time: ‘I’m not quite sure what I want to do, stay at Roissy or leave. I have papers, I can stay here, I think I should carefully study all the options before making a decision.’
His lawyer, Christian Bourguet, said at the time: ‘He no longer wants to leave the airport. He’s scared of going.’
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MORE : Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas stresses Dianne Buswell’s name after previous slip-up
MORE : Kym Marsh in tears after emotionally dedicating Strictly Come Dancing performance to late son
Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport for 18 years (Picture: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
Merhan Karimi Nasseri, the real man who inspired Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal, has died in the airport he lived in for 18 years.Â
The Iranian man is believed to have been born in 1945 but became stuck in legal limbo in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France in 1988 after apparently lacking residency papers.Â
He had lived there until 2006 when he was hospitalised and his sitting place had been dismantled, with Nasseri being looked after by the airport’s branch of the French Red Cross after his release from hospital before being housed in a Paris shelter since 2008.
According to local reports, an airport official claimed he had been living back in the airport again in recent weeks until his death just before midday on Saturday.
Nasseri is said to have died of natural causes in Terminal 2F, believed to be a heart attack according to an airport official via AFP, with police and medical workers not being able to save him.
His story inspired Spielberg’s 2004 film The Terminal, in which Tom Hanks played Viktor Navorski, an Eastern European man who gets stuck in a New York airport when he is denied entry but is also unable to return to his native country because of a military coup.
He had moved back into the airport in recent weeks (Picture: DB Isernhagen / Avalon)
Nasseri called himself ‘Sir Alfred’ after his case became known around the world, and claimed a small section of the airport as his home.
Born in Masjed Soleiman, in the Iranian province of Khuzestan, Nasser had travelled to London, Berlin and Amsterdam in a bid to locate his mother, but was turned away from every country he landed in after being unable to produce the correct paperwork.Â
He developed an informal support network at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, with people providing food and medical help for him as well as a radio and books to while away the hours.Â
Nasseri was granted refugee status and the right to remain in France in 1999, but chose not to leave the airport.Â
He said at the time: ‘I’m not quite sure what I want to do, stay at Roissy or leave. I have papers, I can stay here, I think I should carefully study all the options before making a decision.’
His lawyer, Christian Bourguet, said at the time: ‘He no longer wants to leave the airport. He’s scared of going.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas stresses Dianne Buswell’s name after previous slip-up
MORE : Kym Marsh in tears after emotionally dedicating Strictly Come Dancing performance to late sonÂ
