The strange story of the man who spent 18 years in an airport

The man who inspired Steven Speilberg’s 2004 movie The Terminal, died last year at what is believed to be the age of 77. Mehran Karimi Nasseri, or Sir Alfred as he later became known, was an Iranian refugee who spent the guts of two decades, living in Terminal 1 of Charles De Gaulle Airport in France. Despite the global interest in his peculiar living circumstances, much of his story remains unclear. Why did he stay there for so long and what brought him back to the airport in his final days. To look back on his extraordinary existence, Conor Pope is joined by author and journalist Andrew Donkin, who wrote The Terminal Man, the book on Sir Alfred’s life. With any subscription you'll get unlimited access to the very best in unique quality journalism from The Irish Times. Subscribe today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.