Interestingly, though, not all of those who find themselves living in an airport do so of their own accord. Nonetheless, it is possible to live in airports because they do offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Many of the facilities are so large that those determined to stay — such as the man at O'Hare — can find ways to avoid detection for quite some time.
One of the ways would-be airport residents avoid detection is to simply blend in with the crowds. Before the pandemic, U.
Once the pandemic hit, the numbers dropped dramatically, falling below , during the early weeks of the crisis in the spring of Notably, the man who lived at O'Hare for a little over three months arrived in mid-October as passenger numbers were experiencing a rebound. He was discovered and apprehended only in late January — right when passenger numbers dropped considerably after the holiday travel peaks and during the resurgence of the coronavirus. While some people may book flights that will require them to stay overnight at the airport, others find themselves stranded at airports because of missed connections, canceled flights or bad weather.
Then there are those who unwittingly find themselves in an extended, indefinite stay. Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, was en route to England via Belgium and France in when he lost the papers that verified his refugee status. In fact, there are probably passengers who have managed that simply by booking with a low cost carrier. The ex-pilot somehow ended up in Campinas Airport, living off donations of food and washing in the toilet sinks. It requires a lot of effort to force an entire airport to take out a restraining order against you, but Anthony Delaney managed just that.
In , the airport authority obtained a court order banning Delaney from the premises, but he took no notice. The economic crisis that engulfed the world hit Greece harder than most. Unemployment went through the roof at the same time that public welfare dried up, and many Greeks fled abroad in search of a better future. One such person was Athanasios who, together with his Bulgarian wife, Albena, headed for Germany in In the meantime, they survived by selling stuff they found in the trash and accepting aid from the Germans.
To be honest, they could have stayed in Greece for that. The Spanish airport of Palma de Mallorca was home to this solitary German woman for more than 10 years. According to reports, Bettina was happy living from hand to mouth with her white cat, Mumu. Some say she was mentally ill, others that she enjoyed the lack of everyday problems. All he wanted to do was marry the mother of his unborn child.
Editor's Note — The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. CNN is showcasing the work of The Conversation , a collaboration between journalists and academics to provide news analysis and commentary. The content is produced solely by The Conversation. Since October, he had been staying in the secure side of the airport, relying on the kindness of strangers to buy him food, sleeping in the terminals and using the many bathroom facilities.
It wasn't until an airport employee asked to see his ID that the jig was up. Singh, however, is far from the first to pull off an extended stay. After more than two decades studying the history of airports, I've come across stories about individuals who have managed to take up residence in terminals for weeks, months and sometimes years. Interestingly, though, not all of those who find themselves living in an airport do so of their own accord.
Blending in with the crowd. Whether it's in video games like "Airport City" or scholarship on topics like "airport urbanism," I'll often see the trope that airports are like "mini cities. But if airports are cities, they're rather strange ones, in that those running the "cities" prefer that no one actually takes up residence there. Nonetheless, it is possible to live in airports because they do offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter.
Many of the facilities are so large that those determined to stay -- such as the man at O'Hare -- can find ways to avoid detection for quite some time. One of the ways would-be airport residents avoid detection is to simply blend in with the crowds. Before the pandemic, US airports handled 1. Once the pandemic hit, the numbers dropped dramatically, falling below , during the early weeks of the crisis in the spring of He was discovered and apprehended only in late January — right when passenger numbers dropped considerably after the holiday travel peaks and during the resurgence of the coronavirus.
While some people may book flights that will require them to stay overnight at the airport, others find themselves stranded at airports because of missed connections, canceled flights or bad weather. Then there are those who unwittingly find themselves in an extended, indefinite stay. Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, was en route to England via Belgium and France in when he lost the papers that verified his refugee status.
Without his papers, he could not board his plane for England. Nor was he permitted to leave the Paris airport and enter France. He soon became an international hot potato as his case bounced back and forth among officials in England, France and Belgium.
At one point French authorities offered to allow him to reside in France, but Nasseri turned down the offer, reportedly because he wanted to get to his original destination, England. And so he stayed at Charles de Gaulle Airport for nearly 18 years. He left only in , when his declining health required hospitalization.
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