The Man Who Lived in an Airport for 18 Years

For 18 years, Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived inside Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. He slept on a bench, ate airport food, watched thousands of passengers come and go, and slowly turned a place designed for temporary stays into his permanent home. His story inspired The Terminal, but the real story is far stranger. He was eventually given a way to leave — yet he didn't. And years after finally leaving the airport, he returned. This is the extraordinary story of the man who spent 18 years living inside an airport.