Man who says he is Swedish has lived in Naples airport for weeks

A young man in the terminal

A young man who says his name is Daniel has been living inside Naples' Capodichino airport for weeks. He says he is 25 and Swedish, but he has no identity documents or money, and his account of his past is fragmented and inconsistent. Tgcom24 and Il Messaggero describe him as about 30. Airport staff describe him as polite and undemanding, and staff and travellers have offered him food and clothes. Reports differ on how long he has been there, from more than a month to about six months, with the terminal serving as his refuge for the past month.

How the case reached the consulate

Airport staff contacted Swedish honorary consul Pierluigi Petrone on 15 October after becoming worried about the young man. Petrone informed the Swedish ambassador in Rome, Karin Höglund. On the evening of Saturday, 31 October, ahead of the airport's closure, he went to Capodichino to see the young man and bought him a hooded jacket, since he was wearing only a T-shirt. Petrone's photograph has since been sent to Swedish consulates across Italy and to the embassy in Rome, which is handling the bureaucratic procedures. Border police have written to the Swedish embassy in Rome about "a presumed Swedish citizen" staying at the airport. A woman from Naples who lives in Stockholm also contacted the consulate, saying she had met him before returning to Sweden and that he told her the same story.

“He told me very little, and in a very confused way.”

Petrone said the difficulty lies in confirming the young man's identity and rebuilding his history.

His account and unverified claims

He told the consul he is Swedish but remembers nothing, according to Il Messaggero. His own account is that a group beat him in Rome and took his documents, passport and money, but he cannot explain how he reached Naples or why he was in Rome. Tgcom24 went further, citing unnamed information that suggests he knows who he is, has a past involving drugs and possibly unpaid debts, and does not want to return to Sweden. The same outlet says he asks people for 500 euros. No named source or official confirms any of these claims, which should be treated as unverified. Petrone said the embassy is working on a solution, and he does not rule out that the young man may wish to go home.

“The embassy is working to find a solution.”

Closure and next steps

Capodichino closed on Sunday, 1 November for runway works. Tgcom24 says it will not reopen for about 30 days, while ANSA says the closure covers the whole of November. On Monday, 2 November, Petrone returned to the airport and found the young man still there. The only thing he has asked for is a new pair of shoes. Efforts are under way to establish his full identity and whether any missing-person reports match him. Petrone has appealed to the public for help.

“Anyone who recognises him from the photographs, please help us, so we can give him a hand.”

Comparisons with The Terminal

Several outlets compare the case to The Terminal, Steven Spielberg's 2004 film in which Viktor Navorski, a citizen of the fictional Eastern European country Krakozhia, cannot enter the United States after a coup at home and cannot return home either. Like Viktor, the character played by Tom Hanks, the young man has improvised ways to survive each day. The airport has become his home, with a few seats serving as a bed, and staff and travellers who have befriended him help with food and clothes.