Tourist stranded at Santiago Airport for two months
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Spanish tourist Rodrigo Ben-Azul flew to Chile from Spain, reportedly to resolve a dispute with some family members who live there. Unfortunately, his bid was unsuccessful and he returned to the airport with no money, says the Telegraph.
He has been waiting for funds from relatives in Spain to get him home ever since.
Local newspaper PubliMetro reports that he earns money by returning luggage trolleys to their storage area and pocketing the coins.
He searches for food and cigarette butts in rubbish bins, sleeps in the corners of the building, and wanders around with his luggage and his earphones on.
Rodrigo reportedly does not know when the money will arrive for his return flight home, or how long he will have to stay at the airport.
According to the NY Daily News, he told Chilean TV station Megavision: "I am trying to return to Spain. I'm waiting for them to send me money for the ticket."
His story echoes the tale of the 2004 film, The Terminal, in which Tom Hanks' character, Viktor Navorski, is stuck at New York's JFK Airport for nine months.
According to the Daily Mail, the film was partly inspired by of Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who spent 17 years living in the Charles de Gaulle International Airport's Terminal I in Paris from 1988 to 2006.
What's the longest you've been stuck at an airport? Tell us your stories below!
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The world's most beautiful airports
- Bilbao Airport, main terminalDesigned by architect Santiago Calatrava, Bilbao's main airport terminal is known as "the dove". Frommer's describes it thus: "sharply-canted curves and lots of light streaming through, and bisected by, ribs which resemble cables."</p>
- JFK, Terminal 5, New York City<p> Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, this spacious, modern terminal boasts "by far the best airport food court in New York". Frommer's also calls it "one of the greatest icons of the mid-20th century jet age." Praise indeed.</p>
- Madrid Barajas Airport, Terminal 4<p> This huge, light-filled terminal, with its expansive spaces and undulating ceilings, was designed by Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela and went on to win the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 2006. "This is an unusually intelligently designed terminal... Even when the terminal is full it never feels oppressively crowded," says Frommer's.</p>
- Menara Airport Terminal 1, Marrakech, Morocco<p> This airport looks has been compared to a Moroccan palace, twenty-first century style, with classic Islamic geometric and nature motifs inscribed into a giant network of concrete diamonds. "You could make a strong argument that the whole thing is one giant artwork," says Frommer's in its review.</p>
- Seoul Incheon Airport, South Korea<p> Praise is lavished on this airport, not least for its entertainment factor. "Seoul's secret is to make sure that you're never more than a few steps away from an entertaining, elightening or amusing bit of Korean culture," says Frommer's. Scattered throughout, you'll find hands-on Korean craft workshops, a dress-up area where you can take photos in traditional clothing, plus "the best free internet cafes you've ever seen, a museum, and plenty of places to take a comfortable nap."</p>
- Singapore Shengai International Airport, Terminal 3<p> Is this an airport or an amusement park? Home to a butterfly garden, an 18ft waterfall, a huge indoor playground, a movie theatre, TV lounges and a huge four-storey spiral slide "that's a lot more fun than taking the elevator," says Frommer's. There's even an outdoor swimming pool...</p>
- "The Rock" Terminal, Wellington, New Zealand<p> This rugged, artistically constructed airport terminal has also been named the world's ugliest - but it's all a matter of taste. Opened last year, the Rock's egg-shaped buildings covered in copper is designed to turn blue-green in the sea air. Says Frommer's: "Inside, curving corners and geometric panels play peekaboo." Very posh.</p>
- Carrasco International Airport Montevideo, Uruguay<p> Montevideo's airport terminal, designed by Rafael Vinoly, is described by Frommer's as "a smooth dome, looking from the front a bit like a whale's mouth; inside, lines are smooth, clean and calm, with grand terraces overlooking the runways and arrival areas."</p>
- Jeddah Hajj Terminal, Saudi Arabia<p> This airport is unique in many ways. For a start, it's only active diring the "hajj" - the pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims. During this period, it's one of the busiest airport terminals in the world. According to <a href="http://archrecord.construction.com/features/aiaAwards/10_25YearAward.asp" target="_blank">Architectural Record</a>, it is made of 210 open-air white fibreglass tents which create a chimney effect that can cool the scorching desert air by 50 degrees without air conditioning. It received the American Institue of Architects 25-year award.</p>
