www.Parctel.com: In scenes reminiscent of the Tom Hanks movie, The Terminal, Gatwick Airport has had its own long term 'guest'. In the movie Hanks plays Viktor Navorski who leaves his fictional, tiny Eastern European homeland of Krakozhia to visit New York City, but because of a coup and U.S. red tape, he finds himself trapped in the international terminal of JFK. The Terminal is loosely based on a true story of an Iranian man trapped in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
The BBC reports that Anthony Delaney, 43, made the West Sussex airport his home for more than three years in defiance of an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) ban. Delaney, a homeless chef, ate, showered and slept at Gatwick Airport for more than three years.
The Argus reports that the order prohibits him from entering the Gatwick airport or its railway station.
Delaney first started living at the airport in 2004 and since February that year he has been stopped by security staff more than 30 times.
Under Gatwick airport authority bylaws Delaney was officially banned in March 2005, but he continued to return.
Peter Knight, defending, said Delaney has been staying at the airport because he wanted to stay clean, dry and warm.
He said Delaney was only looking for shelter and did not cause trouble. He said: "It is not a situation where he goes to the airport and causes a stink.
Maybe Delaney should have taken a leaf out of some enterprising unemployed persons books and become an unofficial car guard in the Gatwick Airport Parking lots and guarded vehicles for tips or in exchange for a night in a camper!
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