Episode Details

In the movie The Terminal, Tom Hanks plays a man who is forced to live in an airport for 9 months after his passport is declared invalid. Most people know that The Terminal was based on a true story, but they don't know that in real life, Mehran Karimi Nasseri wasn't stuck at the airport for 9 months. He ended up living there for 18 YEARS. He entered the international terminal of Charles de Gaulle Airport in 1988, and didn't leave until 2006, all because he didn't have a valid passport.

Getting by with gifts from airline staff and travellers, 'Sir Alfred' used two benches as a bed, washed in the airport toilets and ate McDonalds for every meal. This is Just The Gist (MINI) of Mehran Karimi Nasseri; the stateless man who lived in Terminal One at Charles de Gaulle Airport for almost 20 years, the bureaucratic nightmare that put him there, and the far sadder truth about why he stayed.

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The 15-Year Layover — Michael Paterniti, GQ (via Longform)

AP News: Mehran Karimi Nasseri, 'The Terminal' man, dies in Paris airport

The Guardian: 'Terminal Man' lived in Paris airport for 18 years — I'll never forget my weeks with him

All That's Interesting: Mehran Karimi Nasseri

New York Times Magazine: Waiting For Spielberg

The Guardian: The man The Terminal left behind

Here To Where (2002 film, available on Vimeo)

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