List of people who have lived in airports
Name Original nationality Location Period Duration Reason for stay Reason for leaving
Mehran Karimi Nasseri Iranian Charles de Gaulle Airport , France 26 August 1988 - July 2006 6,518-6,548 days ( 17.84-17.93 years ) Originally from Iran , was given refugee status by UNHCR and claimed that his documents were stolen in Paris en route to the United Kingdom . Was refused entry and declined new papers due to changing his own name and place of birth Hospitalised , stayed in hotel by Red Cross and was then moved to Paris by Emmaus
Denis Luiz de Souza Brazilian São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport , Brazil Circa 2000 - 19-20 years ( roughly ) Had frequent conflicts at home , deciding to take refuge in the airport . Seems to suffer from psychological problems Still lives in the airport , but comes out occasionally
Sanjay Shah Kenyan Nairobi Airport , Kenya May 2004 - 12 July 2005 407-437 days ( 1.11-1.20 years ) Tried to enter the United Kingdom on a British Overseas citizen passport but was barred entry . Had already handed in his Kenyan Passport and upon return to Nairobi , began protesting Obtained full British citizenship
Zahra Kamalfar Iranian Sheremetyevo International Airport , Russia May-June 2006 - 15 March 2007 258-318 days Was fleeing persecution in Iran with her family using falsified documents to seek asylum in Canada via Germany and Russia . The documents were rejected by German authorities and she was returned to Russia Asylum was granted by the Canadian government
Tetsuya Abo Japanese Sheremetyevo International Airport , Moscow , Russia 29 May 2015 - 9 August 2015 72 days Claimed to be a journalist , and that his seeking asylum was politically motivated . Hoped to receive Russian citizenship Denied political asylum in Russia
Mohammed Al Bahish Iraqi - Palestinian Almaty International Airport , Almaty , Kazakhstan March 20 - August 17 , 2013 150 days In Kazakhstan , while registering intention to marry , his refugee travel documents went missing , and his Kazakh and Emirati visas expired . Later flew to Turkey in the hope of renewing his Kazakh visa , but was turned back at the border . Subsequently , flown back and forth four times and refused entry by either country Was allowed to go to a UNHCR refugee transit centre in Timișoara , Romania , and later granted asylum in Finland
Hiroshi Nohara Japanese Mexico City International Airport , Mexico 2 September - 28 December 2008 117 days Declined to give his reasons Left with a woman identified as Oyuki
Ahmed Kannan Palestinian Kuala Lumpur International Airport , Sepang , Malaysia 21 May - 13 July 2013 114 days Arrived without passport because it had been confiscated in Turkey . After having overstayed during May 2013 in Malaysia , he had flown from Kuala Lumpur to Turkey , but without a Turkish visa . His passport was seized by Turkish immigration and he was deported back to Kuala Lumpur Released on 13 July 2013 . Granted 30-days Malaysian visa on humanitarian grounds
Yvonne Paul Dutch Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , Netherlands October 1967 - 5 January 1968 66-96 days Wanted to return to the United States Was arrested
Feng Zhenghu Chinese Narita International Airport , Japan 9 November 2009 - 3 February 2010 86 days Began protesting after being refused re-entry into China Was visited by several Chinese diplomats and entered Japan with anticipation of being allowed to re-enter Shanghai by mid-February . This later occurred , although he is now under house-arrest at his Shanghai apartment
Khasan Aman Ando , Gulistan Issa Shakho , and four children Syrian Sheremetyevo International Airport , Moscow , Russia 10 September 2015 - 20 November 2015 71 days Family of Kurdish refugees fleeing the Iraqi Civil War who intended to seek asylum in Russia . After being initially denied entry into the country , they remained at the airport The family was moved to a facility for temporary accommodation while they await further processing of their asylum application
Edward Snowden American Sheremetyevo International Airport , Moscow , Russia 23 June - 1 August 2013 39 days While on a flight to Moscow- Sheremetyevo , authorities revoked Snowden 's U.S. passport Granted temporary asylum in Russia
Iyad El-Baghdadi Palestinian Kuala Lumpur International Airport , Malaysia 13 May - 8 June 2014 26 days Was deported to Malaysia by the UAE , not wanting to be detained there indefinitely without formal charges . Was then denied entry at the Kuala Lumpur airport because he had no official documents The Palestinian Embassy issued him a passport , and officials in Kuala Lumpur admitted him into the country . He then left Malaysia for Norway , applying for political asylum
Gary Peter Austin British Ninoy Aquino International Airport , Philippines 19 December 2012 - 11 January 2013 23 days Missed his flight . He had run out of money to book a new flight Donors paid for a ticket back to the United Kingdom
Heinz Müller German Viracopos-Campinas International Airport , Brazil October 16-29 , 2009 13 days Flew to Rio de Janeiro to meet with a woman he met online , who did not show up . Ran out of money and ended up in Campinas Was taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation
Hassan Al Kontar Syrian Kuala Lumpur International Airport , Sepang , Malaysia 7 March - 1 October 2018 208 days Deported to Malaysia in 2017 after overstaying in the UAE for 5 years . During his stay , he saved money to buy a plane ticket to Ecuador , but was turned away by Turkish Airlines staff for unexplained reasons . He then attempted to fly to Cambodia after overstaying his Malaysian visa , but was denied entry and deported Was briefly detained by Malaysian immigration authorities for two months until his asylum request was granted by the Canadian government
Liu Xinglian and Yan Kefen Chinese Taoyuan International Airport , Taiwan 27 September 2018 - 30 January 2019 125 days Were trying to seek asylum in Taiwan during their transit , but they were refused for entry while their asylum applications were being considered by Taiwanese authorities Were allowed to enter Taiwan on 30 January 2019
Eissa Muhamad Nigerien Addis Ababa , International Airport November 2018 - More than 200 days ( exact dates unknown ) Was expelled from Israel after being caught without proper documents . On his way back to Niger , he transited to Addis Ababa . Niger refused to let him in , claiming the temporary travel documents Israel gave him were fake . Now stuck in Addis Ababa , where neither Israel nor Niger will take him back
Bayram Tepeli Turkish Atatürk Airport 1991-2019 27 years ( exact dates unknown ) Ran away from family problems and worked at the airport for a while . Eventually became sick , and could not work anymore , but decided to keep living at the airport Airport closed for commercial passenger travel in 2019 , so he had to leave . Now lives in Sabiha Gökçen Airport
Wei Jianguo Chinese Beijing Capital International Airport Circa 2008 - 11-12 years ( roughly ) Wanted to smoke and drink without his family bothering him . Also had difficulty finding work Still lives in the airport , but comes out occasionally
List of residents
Currently in the airport
This is a list of people notable for living for periods of more than a week in airports. The reasons are usually protesting, asylum seeking or having holiday difficulties.