Iranian Who Inspired “The Terminal” Dies At Paris Airport

The world's most famous airport resident has died.

Exiled Iranian man living at Paris Airport dies of heart attack

A 76-year-old man died of a heart attack at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. The police and medical personnel tried to save him.

For 18 years, Nasseri lived full time at Charles de Gaulle Airport, originally from Iran. His reasons for living at the airport are disputed.

• Nasseri claimed he was expelled from Iran in 1977 for protests against the Shah, and he claims he was awarded refugee status in Belgium; however, this was disputed, and an investigation found that he was never expelled from Iran
• Nasseri had a British mother, and decided to settle with her in 1988, but claimed that his papers were lost when his briefcase was stolen; an investigation revealed that he lied about this, and actually mailed his documents to Brussels while onboard a ferry to Britain

In 1988 he was sent back to France for not having proper entry documents. His entry to the airport was legal and he had no country of origin to return to, which is why he started living at the airport.

The staff at the airport referred to him as Lord Alfred. He was able to shower in the staff facilities because he had a plastic bench with boxes of newspapers and magazines around him. He studied economics and wrote about it.

Efforts were made to allow him to leave, but he turned them down.

• Attempts were made to have new documents issued in Belgium, but he would need to present himself in person, and he didn’t want to do this, as he wanted to go to the UK as originally planned
• Both France and Belgium offered Nasseri residency, but he refused to sign the papers, as they listed him as being Iranian (rather than British), and did not show his preferred name of “Sir Alfred Mehran”

When he was hospitalized, he left the airport. He had been living in various areas near Paris for the past 15 or so years, but in the past few weeks he decided to return to living at the airport.

“The Terminal” movie was loosely based on this

Tom Hanks starred in Steven Spielberg's film "The Terminal". The rights to Nasseri's story were purchased by Spielberg. The film was based on a story that wasn't true.

Tom Hanks plays a fictional character in a movie. The United States didn't recognize the new government of Krakozhia after he arrived at JFK Airport. Navorski wasn't allowed to enter the U.S. or return home because his passport wasn't valid.

Since the United States doesn't have "sterile" international transit areas, the plot of that wasn't realistic. You can leave the airport if you are in a departures terminal in the US. In Europe, the non-Schengen areas are considered to be "sterile" for those reasons.

Bottom line

The world's most famous airport resident died of a heart attack. Merhan Karimi Nasseri has a fascinating life. Even though he had the option to leave, he chose to stay at the airport. There is a sad thing about this story. He will be in peace.

What do you think about this tale?