Iranian refugee who inspired ‘The Terminal’ dies at Paris airport

Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who had lived inside the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport for years and inspired Steven Spielberg’s film ‘The Terminal’, died at the airport on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at Terminal 2F by the airport medical team. A spokesperson told CNN that he had died of natural causes.

According to CNN report, Nasseri was on his way to England via Belgium and France in 1988 when he lost his papers. He could not board a flight nor leave the airport and was stuck in limbo until 2006 due to a lack of residency papers and later by choice.

A spokesperson said he returned to live at the airport as a homeless person in the public area in mid-September after a stay in a nursing home.


The spokesperson added that Nasseri was an ‘iconic character’ and the ‘whole airport community was attached to him, and our staff looked after him as much as possible for many years, even if we would have preferred him to find a real shelter.’

He was nicknamed Lord Alfred by the staff and was a mini-celebrity among passengers.
Nasseri’s story was memorialized by Steven Spielberg in the movie ‘The Terminal’, starring Tom Hanks. The spokesperson for the airport noted that: ‘The Spielberg film suggests that he was stuck in a transit zone at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. In reality, he spent several stays there, but always in the public area of the airport, he was always free to move around.’

French authorities reportedly offered to allow Nasseri to reside in France, but he turned down the offer because he wanted to go to England, his original destination.

Nasseri was born in 1945 in Soleiman, a part of Iran then under British jurisdiction, to an Iranian father and a British mother. He went to study in England in 1974. He was imprisoned upon his return to Iran for protesting against the shah and expelled without a passport.

Also Watch: Karan Johar announces new release date of 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani