The Spanish International Airport has become a hundreds of homeless shelter, citing rental growth and failures of social services. Dozens of people overnight in Madrid Barakhas Airport Terminal 4, asleep under the blanks, beside the bags full of personal items. Many, like a 54-year-old Tessa, say they are unemployed, and the only income is an unofficial work that barely meets for hygiene maintenance and food.
The Spanish State Airport Management Organization, Aena, has announced that it intends to limit access to the airport, allowing only passengers, employees or escorts at night. The city council accuses state agencies for inaction, while the ministries refused to participate in the joint working group to solve the problem. Aena, in turn, reverses that the city authorities are not fulfilling their obligations.
Although there are no concrete numbers, local sources say that about 400 people live at the airport. Local authorities say that only April has been helped in April, but most of them remain permanent asylum. Meanwhile, the problem of homeless has escalated over the last decade, due to a doubling of lease prices, due to the limitations of public housing and social programs.
