Living In Airports: A Unique Lifestyle Choice

Airports are often described as mini cities, with places of worship, policing, hotels, fine dining, shopping and mass transit. However, those running these cities would prefer that no one actually takes up residence there. Nonetheless, it is possible to live in airports because they offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Some people live in airports of their own accord, while others would rather be anywhere else and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling.

People who live in airports of their own accord

Airports offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Airport terminals often open very early in the morning and stay open until late at night. This means that those who are determined to stay can find ways to avoid detection for a long time.

Some people who live in airports do so of their own accord, using the airport's amenities to meet their basic needs. For example, a man named Aditya Singh spent three months living at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, relying on strangers to buy him food and sleeping in the terminals.

Others, however, would rather be anywhere else. This group includes Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years and inspired the movie *The Terminal*. Nasseri died at the airport on November 12, 2022.

People who live in airports due to bureaucratic wrangling

Although airports are not designed for people to live in, they do offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Airports are open very early in the morning and stay open until very late at night, and some people have managed to live in airport terminals for weeks, months or even years.

Some people choose to live in airports, using the airport's amenities to meet their basic needs. However, others would rather not be there and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling. For example, in 2021, a 36-year-old man named Aditya Singh was arrested after spending three months living at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. He relied on the kindness of strangers to buy him food and slept in the terminals. Similarly, Mehran Karimi Nasseri famously lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years, inspiring the movie *The Terminal*.

The basic amenities that airports offer

It is possible to live in airports because they offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Airport terminals often open very early in the morning and stay open until very late at night. Many of the facilities are so large that those determined to stay can find ways to avoid detection for quite some time.

Some people who live in airports rely on the kindness of strangers to buy them food, while others use their own money to purchase food from the airport's restaurants and shops. Some airports have hotels, which may be used by long-term residents.

Airports also have places of worship, policing, fine dining, shopping and mass transit. They are like mini cities, with all the amenities you would expect to find in one.

However, those running airports prefer that no one actually takes up residence there. While it is possible to live in an airport for a long time, it is not necessarily a comfortable or desirable existence.

Famous people who have lived in airports

People can live in airports because they offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. Airport terminals often open very early in the morning and stay open until very late at night, and their large size means that those determined to stay can find ways to avoid detection for quite some time.

Some people live in airports of their own accord, using airport amenities to meet their basic needs. Others would rather be anywhere else and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling.

Some of the world's most famous airport dwellers include:

• Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years and inspired the movie The Terminal.
• Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, who spent more than a month in a Russian airport in 2013 before receiving asylum.
• Aditya Singh, who spent three months living at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport before being arrested in January 2021.

Airports as 'mini cities'

Airports have been described as 'mini cities' because they offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms, and shelter. They also have places of worship, policing, hotels, fine dining, shopping, and mass transit. Airports are often open from very early in the morning until very late at night, and some people have managed to live in them for weeks, months, or even years.

Some people choose to live in airports, using the amenities to meet their basic needs. Others find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling and would rather be anywhere else.

One famous example of someone who lived in an airport is Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years and inspired the movie "The Terminal". Another example is Edward Snowden, who spent more than a month in a Russian airport in 2013 before receiving asylum. In 2021, a man named Aditya Singh was arrested after spending three months living in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, relying on strangers to buy him food and sleeping in the terminals.

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