An Iranian man who got stuck for 18 years in a Paris airport - inspiring a Steven Spielberg movie starring Tom Hanks - died today at the terminal, an airport official said.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri died of natural causes just before midday in terminal 2F at Charles de Gaulle airport outside the French capital, the official said.

Stuck in an immigration issue - unable to enter France and with nowhere to go - he became dependent on his unusual place of abode.

He chose the name "Sir Alfred Mehran" for himself and made a small area of Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris, France) his home in 1988.

Mr Karimi Nasseri's peculiar story came to the attention of Hollywood director Spielberg, inspiring 2004 film "The Terminal," which starred Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Tom Hanks played a man who becomes trapped at New York's JFK airport when his home country collapses into revolution.

Mr Karimi Nasseri's stay at the airport ended in July 2006 when he was hospitalised and his sitting place dismantled. He then lived in a number of shelters in Paris.

After spending most of the money he received for the film, Mr Karimi Nasseri returned to the airport a few weeks ago, the official said.

The 2004 movie 'The Terminal' is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video in India.