Tourist falls asleep on airport baggage belt, discovered on X-ray scanner

Tourist falls asleep on baggage belt and is discovered on X-ray scanner repubblica.it

A Norwegian tourist fell asleep on a Rome airport baggage belt and travelled through a secure area before being discovered by officials on an X-ray scanner.

The unnamed 36-year-old arrived at Rome's Fiumicino airport to board a flight back to Oslo.

But, when he arrived at the check-in desk, he found it empty, and decided to jump over the counter for a snooze on the baggage belt.

He travelled 160ft in 15 minutes through the secure baggage area in Terminal 3 before being spotted curled up in a ball on the X-ray screens.

He was asleep the entire time, and airport police even had trouble waking him up.

An officer with Fiumicino airport police told the Telegraph: "There's usually an episode like this once a year and we are alert.

"In this case we were notified we sounded the alarm immediately and we took action."

Police took the man to a nearby hospital before reporting him prosecutors at Civitavecchia for causing alarm at the airport.

In danger of falling asleep at the airport? Make it one of these:

The world's most beautiful airports

Bilbao Airport, main terminal
Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, Bilbao's main airport terminal is known as "the dove". Frommer's describes it thus: "sharply-canted curves and lots of light streaming through, and bisected by, ribs which resemble cables."
JFK, Terminal 5, New York City
 Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, this spacious, modern terminal boasts "by far the best airport food court in New York".  Frommer's also calls it "one of the greatest icons of the mid-20th century jet age." Praise indeed.
Madrid Barajas Airport, Terminal 4
 This huge, light-filled terminal, with its expansive spaces and undulating ceilings, was designed by Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela and went on to win the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 2006. "This is an unusually intelligently designed terminal... Even when the terminal is full it never feels oppressively crowded," says Frommer's.
Menara Airport Terminal 1, Marrakech, Morocco
 This airport looks has been compared to a Moroccan palace, twenty-first century style, with classic Islamic geometric and nature motifs inscribed into a giant network of concrete diamonds. "You could make a strong argument that the whole thing is one giant artwork," says Frommer's in its review.
Seoul Incheon Airport, South Korea
 Praise is lavished on this airport, not least for its entertainment factor. "Seoul's secret is to make sure that you're never more than a few steps away from an entertaining, elightening or amusing bit of Korean culture," says Frommer's. Scattered throughout, you'll find hands-on Korean craft workshops, a dress-up area where you can take photos in traditional clothing, plus "the best free internet cafes you've ever seen, a museum, and plenty of places to take a comfortable nap."
Singapore Shengai International Airport, Terminal 3
 Is this an airport or an amusement park? Home to a butterfly garden, an 18ft waterfall, a huge indoor playground, a movie theatre, TV lounges and a huge four-storey spiral slide "that's a lot more fun than taking the elevator," says Frommer's. There's even an outdoor swimming pool...
"The Rock" Terminal, Wellington, New Zealand
 This rugged, artistically constructed airport terminal has also been named the world's ugliest - but it's all a matter of taste. Opened last year, the Rock's egg-shaped buildings covered in copper is designed to turn blue-green in the sea air. Says Frommer's: "Inside, curving corners and geometric panels play peekaboo." Very posh.
Carrasco International Airport Montevideo, Uruguay
 Montevideo's airport terminal, designed by Rafael Vinoly, is described by Frommer's as "a smooth dome, looking from the front a bit like a whale's mouth; inside, lines are smooth, clean and calm, with grand terraces overlooking the runways and arrival areas."
Jeddah Hajj Terminal, Saudi Arabia
 This airport is unique in many ways. For a start, it's only active diring the "hajj" - the pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims. During this period, it's one of the busiest airport terminals in the world. According to <a href="http://archrecord.construction.com/features/aiaAwards/10_25YearAward.asp" target="_blank">Architectural Record</a>, it is made of 210 open-air white fibreglass tents which create a chimney effect that can cool the scorching desert air by 50 degrees without air conditioning. It received the American Institue of Architects 25-year award.