Swedish man who lived at Naples airport reconnects with family, plans return

Life inside the airport

The 25-year-old Swedish man had spent weeks at Naples' Capodichino airport, staying in the terminal by day and sleeping on seats in the arrivals area at night. He carried no papers and no money, and he told people he had lost his memory and remembered only that he was Swedish. Shop staff and airport workers fed him, brought him clothes and in some cases tried to collect money for his trip home, though they did not know where home was. Staff said he blended in easily with passengers and had never harmed anyone. Reports of his presence were made within his first ten days there, but he turned down all help at that stage.

Airport closure forces action

The airport has been closed to commercial flights for the whole of November because runway and taxiway repairs began on 1 November. That closure removed the shelter he had relied on and pushed his case to the authorities. The honorary Swedish consul in Naples, Pierluigi Petrone, had met him in mid-October. Naples social workers at the city's first-reception centre coordinated the response with the Swedish embassy. The city's social policy assessor, Chiara Marciani, said he had first refused every form of support before accepting the transfer that social workers proposed.

This result was achieved thanks to the patient and constant work of the social workers and the collaboration of the Swedish embassy and consulate.

Family contact and plans to return

On 3 November the municipality said his parents had been informed and reassured about his health. They had not heard from him since August. He now has a temporary bed in a reception facility in via De Blasiis in central Naples, where he is receiving the assistance he needs. He has said he wants to return to Sweden, and the city will work with the consulate and embassy on the journey. The Swedish foreign ministry and its embassy in Rome said they were aware that a Swedish citizen had been staying at Naples airport.

I am particularly happy with the outcome of this story, made possible by cooperation between institutions and the commitment of everyone who has supported him in these months.

Open questions

His identity has not been confirmed. Fanpage reported that no relatives had come forward by the time of its reporting, and Petrone described the situation as very confidential. He has told people he was beaten and robbed in Rome, where he lost his documents and money, but he cannot explain how he reached Naples. Fanpage described his accounts as confused and contradictory. No date has been given for his departure to Sweden.