Stuck at the airport? Some people want to be

Did you hear about the chef who was arrested at London's Gatwick International Airport recently? Apparently, he lost his job and his living quarters, so he decided to take up residence at the airport.

According to The Argus, a British newspaper, he was arrested several times in the past for airport loitering; but each time, as soon as he was released, he was back at the terminal where he slept, ate and showered -- never causing a stink. He only left the airport to collect his unemployment checks.

He kept this living arrangement going for three years. His goose was finally cooked when authorities decided to turn up the heat and get him out of the proverbial kitchen.

This isn't the first person to set up housekeeping at an airport. Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, lived in Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for 16 years. He was such a legend, airline crews flying in and out of Paris regularly bought him lunch. We all considered him a kind of good luck charm. You hadn't seen Paris if you hadn't seen Nasseri.

We used to say somebody should make a movie about our favorite recluse. And then they did.

Nasseri was the inspiration for the 2004 film "The Terminal," which starred Tom Hanks. The movie follows the plight of "Viktor," an Eastern European tourist who becomes trapped at John F. Kennedy International Airport when Customs declares his passport invalid and he can't break through the red tape. Viktor makes the best of a bad situation and is soon employed in a profitable construction job while creating his own upscale pad in an unused part of the airport.

While not generally the lap of luxury, airports have been a welcome port for many hapless people (homeless and otherwise). With transit trains traveling regularly from downtown Chicago to Chicago O'Hare, the airport is easy accessible for a person looking for a warm, safe place to rest.

Before 9/11, homeless people blended with passengers on all the concourses. The more-obvious ones kept their worldly processions in a baggage cart. Others traveled lighter with only a carry-on bag or a small set of wheelies. If you didn't frequent the airport and start to recognize their faces, you would never pick them out of a crowd.

Several years ago, there was one homeless man at O'Hare who touched the hearts of both agents and flight attendants. The man always had a smile on his face and never caused a problem. He was grateful for any help you gave him.

But he was adamant about not wanting to go to a shelter. He said he had tried it twice and both times he was brutally beaten and robbed. The airport was friendly. He had a clean bathroom to use, television to watch and plenty of reading material.

He became the project of many airline employees. When the authorities tried to catch him, agents made announcements with code words to let him know it was time to move.

But now, passengers can't get beyond security without a boarding pass and the airport requires anyone in the airport after 1 a.m. to have a ticket. So taking up permanent residency has become a thing of the past.

There are still a number of people who take up temporary residence at the airport, although not necessarily by choice.

"I've spent more nights sleeping on the floor of this terminal than I can count," said one man who was stuck overnight at the airport during an early February storm. "This time the airport provided me with a cot. It wasn't great but it beat the floor."

As much as we hate to be stuck at an airport while waiting for a delayed flight, they're still ports in a storm. And that's true whether you're a fly-by-night or simply can't fly.

Gail Todd, a free-lance writer,worked as a flight attendant for more than 30

years. She can be reached via e-mail at gailtodd@aol.com.