Iranian refugee, Karimi Nasseri, who inspired Spielberg’s film ‘The Terminal’ dies inside Paris airport

Steven Spielberg based his 2004 film “The Terminal” on Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, who spent years living inside the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. Mehran Karimi Nasseri passed away on Saturday at the same airport.

Karimi Nasseri lost his papers in 1988

A spokesperson for the airport told CNN that Nasseri was declared deceased by the airport medical staff at Terminal 2F and had passed away naturally. Iranian refugee Nasseri lost his papers in 1988 while traveling to England via Belgium and France. As a result, he was unable to leave the airport or board a flight, and he remained there until 2006.

The spokeswoman stated that since the middle of September, following a stint in a nursing home, he had “returned to live as a homeless person in the public area of the airport. “According to the spokesperson, Nasseri was an “iconic character” at the airport, and the “whole airport community was devoted to him. Our personnel looked after him as much as possible for many years, even though we would have wanted him to find a real shelter.”

Tom Hanks immortalized Nasseri’s life at the airport in the film -The Terminal

Although Tom Hanks immortalized Nasseri’s experience at the airport in the film “The Terminal,” the airport spokeswoman stated that: “The Spielberg film suggests that he was stuck in a transit zone at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. In actuality, he stayed there more than once, although he was always free to walk out in the airport’s public areas.”

At one-time French officials offered to let him live there, but Nasseri reportedly declined the invitation because he wanted to reach England, his intended objective.

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