A US judge has acquitted the real-life 'Terminal man' from India, who spent three months living in a secured terminal at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, like Tom Hanks' character in the movie The Terminal, media reports said.
Aditya Singh, 37, was acquitted on a felony trespassing charge by Cook County Judge Adrienne Davis.
Singh was arrested in Chicago on January 16 after he spent three months undetected at a secure area at one of the world's busiest airports, The Chicago Tribune reported.
He was too scared to fly due to the coronavirus pandemic and lived undetected at the airport, the court heard.
Singh still faces a separate escape charge related to an alleged violation of electronic monitoring while he was free on bond earlier this year. That case is due in court Friday (29), the report added.
He came to the US six years ago to complete his master's degree. Singh boarded a Chicago-bound flight from Los Angeles on October 19, 2020, to travel to India.
Prosecutors said Singh told authorities that the coronavirus pandemic left him too afraid to fly, he instead remained in the airport, often relying on the kindness of strangers to buy him food.
According to the report, Singh hid in the airport's secured terminal with access to shops, food and public bathrooms until his arrest after two United Airlines employees asked to see his identification.
He showed them an airport ID badge that an operations manager had reported missing in late October 2020, prosecutors said.
His arrest made national headlines, with comparisons to the Tom Hanks movie.
The Transportation Security Administration, which regulates security for the Chicago department of aviation, launched an investigation into the incident.
The investigation has found that Singh did not violate airport regulations and no evidence to prove that he left the secured public side of the airport were produced.
“Singh did not breach or improperly enter secured areas — he arrived there like tens of thousands of arriving passengers do every day, by stepping off a plane,” Christine Carrino, an aviation department spokeswoman, said in a statement to the Tribune earlier this year.
“While we won't speculate on Singh's motivations, he decided to remain in the secure area and made every effort to blend in as a passenger and airline employee until his arrest.”
Singh does not have a prior criminal record, the report added.
After finishing his studies at Oklahoma State University in summer 2019, he moved to Orange, California, southeast of Los Angeles, and lived with a man who told the Tribune he had offered Singh a place to live in exchange for helping him care for his elderly father and other odd jobs.
According to the man, he planned to return to India in October 2020, where his mother lives, as his visa was expiring.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)