Iranian who inspired ‘The Terminal’ dies at airport

French officials say an Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport and loosely inspired the Steven Spielberg film “The Terminal” has died in the airport.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri died Saturday after a heart attack in the airport’s Terminal 2F. That’s according to official with the Paris airport authority, who said police and then a medical team treated him but were not able to save him.

Karimi Nasseri, believed to have been born in 1945, lived in the airport’s Terminal 1 from 1988 until 2006, first in legal limbo because he lacked residency papers and later by choice, according to French media. The airport official said Karimi Nasseri had been living in the airport again in recent weeks.

Merhan Karimi Nasseri