People Living in Airports, According to Wikipedia

List of people who have lived in airports From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This is a list of people notable for living for periods of more than a week in airports. The reasons are usually protesting, asylum seeking or having holiday difficulties.

List of residents

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currently in the airport

Mehran Karimi Nasseri— 1988–2006 IRANIAN—LOCATION Charles de Gaulle Airport, France[2]

DURATION

26 Aug 1988– July 2006[1]

6,518–6,548 days (17.84–17.93 years)

REASON FOR STAYING Originally from Iran, was given refugee status by UNHCR and claimed that his documents were stolen in Paris en route to the United Kingdom. Was refused entry and declined new papers due to changing his own name and place of birth.[2] REASON FOR LEAVING

2

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PERIOD

Hospitalised, stayed in hotel by Red Cross and was then moved to Paris by Emmaus.[2]

Hadaa Arlen— circa 2019 SOVIET—LOCATION

PERIOD

Manas International January 19 Airport, Bishkek, 2019 – [9] Kyrgyzstan[8]

DURATION

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597 days

REASON FOR STAYING Lost Soviet-Kyrgizi citizenship at dissolution of the Union. Was rejected Norwegian residence permit and citizenship and returned to Kyrgyzstan. [10] REASON FOR LEAVING Still lives in the airport.

Sanjay Shah— 2004-2005 KENYAN—LOCATION Nairobi Airport, Kenya[4]

PERIOD

DURATION

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May 2004 – 407–437 days 12 July 2005[4] (1.11–1.20 years)

REASON FOR STAYING Tried to enter the United Kingdom on a British Overseas citizen passport but was barred entry. Had already handed in his Kenyan Passport and upon return to Nairobi, began protesting.[4] REASON FOR LEAVING Obtained full British citizenship.[4]

3

Zahra Kamalfar— 2006-2007 IRANIAN—LOCATION Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russia[5]

PERIOD

DURATION

May 2006 – 15 March 2007[5]

258–318 days

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REASON FOR STAYING Was fleeing persecution in Iran with her family using falsified documents to seek asylum in Canada via Germany and Russia. The documents were rejected by German authorities and she was returned to Russia.[5] REASON FOR LEAVING Asylum was granted by the Canadian government.[5]

Hiroshi Nohara— 2008–2008 JAPANESE—LOCATION Mexico City International Airport, Mexico[13]

PERIOD

DURATION

2 Sept – 28 Dec 2008[13][14]

117 days

REASON FOR STAYING Declined to give his reasons.[14] REASON FOR LEAVING Left with a woman identified as Oyuki.[14]

4

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Tetsuya Abo— 2015–2015 JAPANESE—LOCATION Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia[6]

PERIOD

DURATION

29 May 2015 – 9 Aug 2015[7]

72 days

REASON FOR STAYING

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Claimed to be a journalist, and that his seeking asylum was politically motivated. Hoped to receive Russian citizenship.[6] REASON FOR LEAVING Denied political asylum in Russia.[7]

Yvonne Paul— 1967–1968 DUTCH—LOCATION Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands

PERIOD

DURATION

Oct 1967 – 5 Jan 1968[17]

66–96 days

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REASON FOR STAYING Wanted to return to the United States.[17] REASON FOR LEAVING Was arrested.[17]

5

Edgard Ziebart— 2020–2020 GERMAN—LOCATION Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi[47]

PERIOD

DURATION

18 March – 12 May 2020 [48]

55 days

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REASON FOR STAYING Prevented from embarking on the last leg of his flight when India imposed restrictions amid the coronavirus crisis.

Refused German Embassy evacuation flights, fearing prosecution for criminal offences.[48] REASON FOR LEAVING Left on a KLM repatriation flight to Amsterdam.[48]

Edward Snowden— 2013–2013 AMERICAN—LOCATION Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia[23]

PERIOD

DURATION 39 days

23 June – 1 Aug 2013[24]

REASON FOR STAYING While on a flight to Moscow-Sheremetyevo, authorities revoked Snowden’s U.S. passport.

REASON FOR LEAVING Granted temporary asylum in Russia.[25]

6

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Denis Luiz de Souza— circa 2000 BRAZILIAN—LOCATION São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, Brazil[3]

PERIOD

DURATION

Circa 2000– [3]

19-20 years (roughly)

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REASON FOR STAYING Had frequent conflicts at home, deciding to take refuge in the airport. Seems to suffer from psychological problems.[3] REASON FOR LEAVING Still lives in the airport, but comes out occasionally.[3]

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See also

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International zone Statelessness Lost in Transit , 1993 film Flight , 1998 opera The Terminal, 2004 film Eve Bunting, whose illustrated 1991 children’s book Fly Away Home is about a homeless man and his son who live in an airport

References 1. “Stranded at the Airport”.

Snopes. 2 July 2008.

in Moscow Airport”. The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2015-12-14.

2. “Mehran Karimi Nasseri – In Transit”. h2g2. BBC. May 28, 2008.

7. “Stateless man trapped at Manas airport in Bishkek for 4 months”. AKIpress. 8 April 2019.

Retrieved 15 August 2020.

3. “15 anos vivendo no aeroporto” (in Portuguese). El País (Brazilian Edition). 21 May 2015.

4. Mynott, Adam (12 July 2005).

“Kenya airport dweller is British”.

BBC News.

8. “Stateless man living in secure zone of Manas airport for 3 months”. 24KG. 5 April 2019.

Retrieved 15 August 2020.

5. “Emotional reunion for Iranian family at Vancouver airport”. CBC News. 15 March 2007.

6. “Japanese Jou rnalist Lives in Moscow Airport, Wants Russian Citizenship”.

Sputnik. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.

9. “Strandet på flyplassen i Kirgisistan” (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.

6B. “Japanese Blogger Flies Home After Spending 2 Months

11. “Marooned at an airport... then what?”. BBC. December 4, 2013.

10. “Life in transit: What is it like to live in an airport?”. BBC News.

July 18, 2013.

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12. “Japan Tourist Extends Layover at Mexico Airport: 85 Days So Far”. Bloomberg.com. 26 November 2008.

21. Lokshina, 17 December 2015 (30 November 2015). “A refugee family’s ordeal in Russia”. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 17 December 2015.

13. “Man living at Mexico airport has a new home”. NBC News. 31 December 2008.

22. “Moscow airport source confirms Snowden arrived on Sunday”. Reuters. June 25, 2013.

14. “22-year-old Palestinian stuck at airport for more than 50 days”.

The Star. July 13, 2013.

23. “Snowden in Moscow: What Russian Authorities Might Be Doing With the NSA WhistleBlower”. Time. 10 July 2013.

15. “Exclusive: Ahmed’s ordeal over as he is allowed to re-enter Malaysia”. The Star. 14 July 2013.

16. “Yvonne Paul: “Ik blijf”” (in Dutch). 2012-05-04. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04.

17. “Chinese human rights activist stuck at Tokyo airport”. The Guardian. London. Associated Press, Tokyo. 13 November 2009.

18. “Chinese man who spent 3 months in Tokyo airport to leave”.

Saudi Gazette. Associated Press.

3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.

19. Kurtenbach, Elaine (13 February 2010). “Chinese activist allowed to return home after 3 months at Tokyo airport”. The Washington Post.

20. Ellis, Ralph; Tawfeeq, Mohammed (30 October 2015).

“Kurdish family stuck in Moscow airport”. CNN. Retrieved 17 December 2015.

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24. “Statement on Snowden’s Successful Russian Asylum Bid”.

WikiLeaks. August 1, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013.

25. “How the UAE Tried to Silence a Popular Arab Spring Activist”.

The Intercept. 21 October 2014.

26. “Human Rights Activist Iyad El-Baghdadi Speaks Out on His Deportation from UAE”. Global Voices. 30 October 2014.

27. “The Terminal, PH Version”.

Rappler. 10 January 2013.

28. “Stranded Brit flies home”.

Philippine Star. 12 January 2013.

29. “Stranded Briton heads home after 22 days at Naia; kind Filipinos fed him”. Philippine Daily Inquirer.

10 January 2013.

30. “Dutch chef saves Briton”.

Manila Standard Today. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014.

31. “Headline: Ex-Pilot Lives in Brazilian Airport After Being Dumped”. AOL Travel. 2 November 2012.

32. “This Syrian man has been stuck in an airport for months”.

BBC News. Retrieved 2018-07-09.

33. “Syrian refugee stranded in airport for months is granted asylum in Canada”. The Guardian.

Retrieved 2018-11-28.

34. “Two Chinese Asylum-Seekers Stranded in Taiwan’s Airport After Claim”. Radio Free Asia. 1 October 2018.

35. “29”. Apple Daily (in Chinese). 5 October 2018.

36. “1252”. Apple Daily (in Chinese).

31 January 2019.

37. Igunza, Emmanuel (18 February 2019). “Israel deportee marooned in airport for months”. Retrieved 6 March 2019.

38. “Personal Twitter Account”.

Twitter. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

39. “Terminal date close for man who has lived in Atatürk Airport for 27 years”. DailySabah.

Retrieved 2 June 2019.

airport - EUROPE - Chinadaily. com.cn”. europe.chinadaily.com. cn. Retrieved 5 June 2019.

42. Fullerton, Jamie (6 November 2019). “’Losing my mind’: former beauty queen pursued

by Iran fears for her health”.

The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.

Retrieved 2019-11-06 – via www. theguardian.com.

43. CNN, Helen Regan and Joshua Berlinger. “Beauty queen says she will be killed if she is deported to Iran”. CNN. Retrieved 2019-11-06.

44. Fonbuena, Carmela (2019-1109). “Philippines grants asylum to Iranian woman held in airport”.

The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.

Retrieved 2019-11-13.

45. “Beauty queen trapped in airport for two weeks”.

NewsComAu. 29 October 2019.

Retrieved 2019-11-06.

46. Srivastava, Anvit (12 May 2020). “German man living at Delhi airport since March 18 leaves for Amsterdam on a relief flight”.

Hindustan Times. New Delhi.

Retrieved 13 May 2020.

47. “German man stuck 2 months in Indian airport”. Deutsche Welle.

12 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.

40. “27 yıldır havaalanında ama hiç uçaa binmedi”. odatv.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-11-12.

41. Weiyi, Qiu. “Displaced residents find warmth, shelter at Beijing

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Still lives in the airport, but comes out occasionally.[3]