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Madrid's airport operator Aena estimates around 400 homeless living in the terminal

Travelers shall know this when they think about staying / sleeping in this airport over night.

"From dusk till dawn, the halls of the modern Terminal 4 at the Spanish capital’s Barajas airport are filled with long rows of people lying on the floor, trying to get some sleep.

Some have blankets, others sleeping bags — or no cover at all. Many carry bags or suitcases with their belongings, heading to toilets along the hallways to wash. But they aren’t travelers — it’s a growing group of homeless people who have taken shelter at a major European hub for international flights. ...

Spain’s airport operator Aena, majority-owned by the government, estimates that there are around 400 people living in the terminal. Its head, Maurici Lucena, and Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida recently agreed to mandate a non-profit organization do obtain more precise numbers and information on who the homeless are."

Bloomberg article "Homelessness Crisis Hits Spanish Airport"

There are even more impressive photos and video takes on the Internet which I did not want to share here. I hope that the responsible politicians will come up with solutions for the homeless soon.

Posted by
175 posts

Blame foreign buyers of real estate forcing prices in major cities to force out locals who can’t afford it. It’s happening also in Barcelona and Seville. Disgusting

Posted by
361 posts

Travelers shall know this when they think about staying / sleeping in this airport over night.

Nope. I think I am still going go sleep at the airport

Posted by
66 posts

Seems like a better place to live than outside on the street somewhere with inclement weather. Also probably far safer in the airport, plus reasonably clean bathrooms.

Posted by
8590 posts

I am not diminishing the situation, but we flew out of Madrid a couple days ago, at Terminal 1/2 at 7:30 in the morning for a 10 AM flight. If you are not aware, from the Metro station to check-in in terminal one is a long, long walk...saw no homeless or other shady characters.

Yes, certainly the homeless are there, solutions are needed, but not much of a concern, safety wise) to the typical traveler. Plus, once through security, not an issue.

Posted by
2875 posts

So we’re going to blame the foreigners buying up all the apartments in Madrid for the homeless people at the airport in Madrid. What do we blame the homeless people in Atlanta who were living at the airport on?

It got so bad here that we had to pass a city ordinance that if you don’t have a ticket, you can’t be in the airport. If you come to Atlanta now, you will see sign saying they have the right to ask for your ticket or quiz you about what you’re doing there. They are still letting people come to pick people up, but they’re definitely using this to keep the homeless out of the airport at night.

Madrid is not the only airport with this problem. It’s going on at Heathrow. It’s going on probably at any major airport that’s connected to a city by public transportation. And it’s been going on longer than Airbnb‘s been around so that’s not the entire problem. Heathrow even has social workers to help homeless people stationed at the airport.

Posted by
22459 posts

Carol, no the internet says its AiBnb's fault. Not any of the other short term rental platforms, just AirBnb.

Posted by
2875 posts

LOL Well Mr E we all know that EVERYTHING on the internet is true. (Do you want to join my investment group that guarantees you great returns.. or is that me it guarantees great returns)