A woman who police believe was homeless was asked to leave Toronto’s Pearson International Airport after living there for a month.
The unidentified woman who had been hauling around a pink suitcase in Terminal 1 since mid-April did not appear to have any mental issues. Since she “met the threshold for trespassing”, police gave her bus fare and she left without a struggle.
Trish Krale, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority told CTV News “It’s not unheard of to get reports of people sleeping in the airport for extended periods of time”.
“It’s a rare occurrence but it does happen from time to time,” she said.
And because the airport never closes, it’s not unusual for people to be seen walking around — or catching a quick nap — overnight.
The number of cases in which the homeless around the world are seeking shelter in airports seems to be on the rise. Last summer, the Daily Mail wrote an article about people living in the Heathrow Airport. There have also been publicized cases of people seeking refuge in the Palma and Mexico City airports. Paris Charles de Gaulle is well known for the number of homeless people wandering around at all hours including one man who famously lived there for 12 years and was the inspiration for the movie “Terminal” starring Tom Hanks. CDG’s relaxed policy on dealing with the homeless seems to have only helped it become a miserable airport for travellers.
So what do you think of this trend? Should sleeping in airports be limited to cheap or stranded travellers or the homeless if they behave themselves and don’t stink up the place? At what point should airport officials say “GET OUT!!!” to all of us?
Some of you may recall reading about a Japanese tourist who became so enamored of the Mexico City airport upon arrival that he decided to stay there. Well, after spending 3 months of living in the food court of Terminal 1, Hiroshi Nohara finally decided to return home. Airport spokesman Victor Mejia says he left January 12 on a flight for Japan via San Francisco.
His residency there made him a local celebrity and Mexican news programs ran regular updates on his life.
Nohara left the airport on Dec. 31 to stay with a woman who invited him to her Mexico City apartment. But Reforma newspaper reported that Nohara returned to the airport on Sunday carrying three plastic bags with his clothes and blankets.
This past summer, I posted a few stories of people living in airports. Sleeping in airports for a night or two I get, but living in one for months and years at a time….sometimes with pet cats????? I’m still trying to understand that concept.
So this episode takes us to Mexico City, where Hiroshi Nohara has been surviving off donations from fast-food restaurants and passengers and sleeping in a chair. He arrived from Japan on September 3 with a tourist visa and a return ticket. He has never exited the airport. It has been his choice to simply stay in the airport.
“At first, he frightened passengers, and airport authorities asked the Japanese Embassy to investigate why the foul-smelling man refused to leave. Now, he’s somewhat of a celebrity, capturing Mexico’s collective imagination with nearly daily television news reports on his life at the food court.”
I’m no expert, but he could have saved on airfare if he bought a ticket to Singapore instead. I mean, if you’re gonna live in an airport, stay at Club Changi.
Last month I posted an article about a growing society of people who are not just sleeping, but living in airports. Today The Guardian published an article on Bettina, a woman who has lived in the Palma de Majorca airport FOR 10 YEARS!!! The 48-year-old German woman, known as Son Sant Joan, has been pushing her three suitcases, a blanket, books AND her cat around with her.
She survives on the kindness of friends and strangers. During the day, “Bettina is often seen quietly reading, dressed smartly in jeans and a sweatshirt. She cleans herself and her clothes in the toilets, while departure lounge seats serve as beds.” She has no desire to return to Germany claiming that life is better in the airport. Yikes!
I just read this article over at the Daily Mail about the rise of homeless people at London’s Heathrow airport.
A study over a three month period revealed that there are 111 people sleeping permanently at Heathrow and the numbers are growing. In comparison, only 20 people are believed to be living at Gatwick. More permanent residents are expected at both airports. If you’ve stopped by this site at all over the past few weeks, you’ve probably also read about Camp Stansted, which is geared towards the homeless travellers instead.
With airports being seen as “warm, comfortable havens, the homeless take a rucksack, a change of clothes and they use the toilet areas to wash and shave”. According to the director of a nearby homeless charity, “They’ll often be in travel gear, so they appear as if they’re waiting to go off somewhere or have just come back. If you look the part, you’ve a chance of being able to sleep without anyone disturbing you.’
One woman, Eram Dar, has been living at Heathrow for a year and a half. A YEAR AND A HALF!!!! She says “Living at Heathrow is like being in a good hotel. It is warm, very clean and you don’t get bothered. I think I’m very lucky to be here.” Alrighty then…
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