At some point during our travel adventures, most of us have experienced the annoyance of being stuck at the airport. From canceled flights to “weather delays” – some of us have even spent the night sleeping in a hard airport chair.
But then there are folks who have spent days… weeks… months…. and even years actually living at the airport.
Here are just a few of the insane stories of these travelers and their adventure.
But really… just how exactly does a person end up living in an airport?
Sometimes It Is By Choice
As Proud American Traveler previously reported – some people actually choose to live in an airport… and even pull it off before getting caught! 36-year-old Aditya Singh was too “scared” to fly home during the pandemic – so he stole a badge from an airport employee and managed to hide out in different areas of the airport – undetected. He depended on fellow travelers to give him the scraps of their leftover food – and his airport living situation lasted a whopping 3 months before he was finally caught! One would think Big Brother’s invasive cameras and TSA thugs would have busted him sooner… … but they were too preoccupied with stealing grandma’s toothpaste in order to keep travelers “safe.” AIRLINE FLIGHTS AIRPLANE TICKET AIRPORT TRAVEL BELGIUM BIG BROTHER CHICAGO EDWARD SNOWDEN FRANCE IRAN RUSSIA TSA UNITED KINGDOMSnowden’s Story
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and found out his U.S. passport had been canceled. Russian authorities restricted him to the airport terminal and Snowden wasn’t allowed to leave for a whopping 40 days until Russia granted him temporary asylum for a year. Snowden’s attorney, Anatoly Kucherena, said Snowden kept busy by learning Russian history and the alphabet… but didn’t gloss over the fact that it was psychologically tough for Snowden. Reuters reported: “The circumstances of his stay in Sheremetyevo were similar to “house arrest, only not at home”, said Kucherena, who noted the psychological pressures of remaining confined indoors in a legal no man’s land. “I wouldn’t have held out for 24 hours with him in the airport,” he said. “What is the transit zone? It’s a sterile zone. There are constant loudspeaker announcements every day – a flight from Washington has arrived, a flight from London has arrived, a flight from Barcelona has arrived. I heard them for hours when I was there. If a person is there indefinitely it can drive him to psychosis.” But apparently on the 40th day, Snowden finally walked out of the airport – relieved and ready to begin his new life in Russia.Lost Papers = 18-Year Airport Stay
If you ever needed a story to convince you to keep your things organized – this is it! Mehran Karimi Nasseri was an Iranian refugee trying to get to England through Belgium and France. But when Nasseri lost the papers that verified his refugee status, he was not allowed to board his plane to England… … so in a legal nightmare, his case bounced back and forth between England, France, and Belgium, reported CNN. France finally caved and allowed him to live in France – but Nasseri was determined to get to his final destination in England, so he declined. As a result, he lived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport for almost 18 years… and left only when his declining health forced him to be hospitalized. So as annoying as it is when your flight is changed or delayed – realize it could always be worse. The stories of these travelers are truly what nightmares are made of. (h/t Proud American Traveler)