Indo-American Fearing Covid-19 Emulates Tom Hanks' 'The Terminal' To Live At Chicago Airport For 3 Months

An Indo-American man was arrested after authorities found that he had been living at the airport undetected for three months. He said he was "scared to go home due to COVID".

Representational Image

New Delhi: In bizarre circumstances, an Indian-American man was arrested from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as he was living undetected for nearly three months in a secure area of the airport. He claims that he was too scared to fly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Aditya Singh who has been charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanour theft lives in a suburb of Los Angeles, California. He was arrested on Saturday for living in a secure area at Chicago’s international airport since October 19 after he arrived from Los Angeles, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday. It was unclear what brought Singh to Chicago, the report said.

He was arrested after two United Airlines staff asked him to produce his identification. He showed them a badge, but it reportedly belonged to an operations manager who reported it missing in October. The airline employees called 911. Police took Singh into custody on Saturday morning in Terminal 2 near Gate F12.

According to the report, he found the staff badge and had been living on handouts Assistant State Attorney Kathleen Hagerty told Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz.

Singh lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Orange with roommates and does not have a criminal background, according to Assistant Public Defender Courtney Smallwood. She said Singh has a master's degree in hospitality and is unemployed according the Chicago Tribune report.

Though the Public Defender noted that the circumstances were unusual but noted the allegations were non-violent. Singh has been barred from entering the airport if he is able to post the USD 1,000 for bail. He is due back in court on January 27.

The Chicago Department of Aviation, which oversees the city's airports, said in a statement: "While this incident remains under investigation, we have been able to determine that this gentleman did not pose a security risk to the airport or to the travelling public," the Chicago Tribune report.