Iranian who inspired 'The Terminal' dies at Paris airport

An Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’s Airport has died.  He lived in the airport’s Terminal 1 from 1988 until 2006, first in legal limbo because he lacked residency papers and later by apparent choice.

The UNHCR in Belgium gave him refugee credentials, but he said his briefcase containing the refugee certificate was stolen in a Paris train station.French police later arrested him, but couldn't deport him anywhere because he had no official documents.

He ended up at Paris’s Airport in August 1988 and stayed.Year in and year out, he slept on a red plastic bench, making friends with airport workers.Staff nicknamed him Lord Alfred, and he became a mini-celebrity among passengers.His experience inspired the 2004 film, The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks as well as a French film, “Lost in Transit,” and an opera called “Flight.”