Echoes of Tom Hanks film The Terminal as French teen stuck at Wick airport for a month on cashless tour of Europe
A French teenager travelling Europe with no money and living off people’s goodwill as a social experiment is stuck in limbo at Wick airport as he seeks a flight to Iceland.
Reminiscent of the character played by Tom Hanks in 2004 film The Terminal, Thibaut Lolieux is now hanging around Wick John O’Groats Airport in the hope of some goodwill from a pilot willing to take him to Iceland for free.
One of the security operatives at the airport said: “He’s a lovely lad and he’s been waiting here in the hope of finding a pilot to recognise what he’s trying to achieve.
“He only speaks a little English but he uses Google Translate so we can understand him.”
Carole Darmady lives in the Camster area and learned about Thibaut from the airport staff. With her first language being French, Carole has been able to translate for the young man who says he originally hails from Louhans, near the Swiss border, and has been at Wick airport for around a month.
With Carole translating, Thibaut said: “My objective is to walk across Europe and make it to Iceland and then to Denmark. I left my village with no money and just carrying my rucksack. My goal is to see, in the 21st century, if I can still count on people’s generosity and kindness.”
The 18-year-old started off from his village on March 11 this year and walked around 25km a day. He often found people to take him in and offer him a bed for the night and a meal.
He managed to hitch a free ride on a yacht which took him to the UK. Someone else bought him a tent in Glasgow so he did some wild camping as he made his way north to end up in Wick a few weeks ago.
Carole said that Thibaut wants to find out how much goodwill survives in the world and says he does not carry money and does not accept it. However, he does accept food donations, clothing and offers of travel. “People sometimes offer me money but I do not accept it. It is not my objective and the aim is to try and do without money.”
Airport staff have given him food and kept a close eye on the young man to see that he is safe. The only downside of his trip occurred in Ireland when some communication issues led Thibaut to be chased by a gang armed with shillelaghs (sticks) due to a “misunderstanding”.
Carole said: “He left school at 16 to start planning this project. He says that he will do work for people in exchange for a bed and some food. He hopes to end the journey in December 2025.”
On his journey, Thibault has only taken the bare necessities of clothing with the garments he has on and an extra set in his rucksack. Despite his very basic English, he has struck up friendships along the way and the security staff at Wick airport have grown fond of him. “We need a private pilot to recognise him so he can fulfill the next part of his journey and take him to Iceland,” said one of the staff.
The scenario is reminiscent of the 2004 Hollywood film The Terminal in which the character played by Tom Hanks is stuck in limbo at JFK airport after arriving from a politically unstable country.
He makes the airport his home and develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave. The story was based on the experiences of Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years.
Staff at Wick’s airport have been keeping a close eye on the young man’s welfare and one female staff member said: “As a mother myself, I’d hate to think it was my son out there with all the dangers but he’s so positive with his aim to find good in the world.”
Thibaut says he may walk the 20 miles to Scrabster in the hope of finding a vessel that could take him to Iceland if there is no chance of a flight from Wick. He also says that he is happy to do any work to help pay for his passage.
