Freedom ticket for Mr. Ben-Azul

Many of us complain if we're stuck in transit for a few hours longer than we like, but imagine if those few hours became more than two months. It's the stuff of nightmares.

In a curious case echoing 2004 film The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks, Spanish man Rodrigo Ben-Azul has been stuck in Chile's Santiago Airport for more than eight weeks.

Completely broke, Mr Ben-Azul has been scrounging for food and cigarette butts in rubbish bins, and earns his only money by returning luggage carts to their storage area for a refund.

According to local news outlet PubliMetro, he is waiting for relatives in Spain to send him money for his return flight.

Mr Ben-Azul told Chilean TV station Megavision he travelled to Chile from Spain to resolve a dispute with relatives, but it didn't work out. He then returned to the airport terminal having run out of money, and has spent the last two months sleeping in corners of the vast building.

Little else is known about the man, who is often seen wandering the airport concourses with luggage in tow and headphones placed firmly in his ears