El Prat Airport maintains homelessness checks almost every day.
There has not been a significant reduction in the number of people staying overnight in the infrastructure, which is between 120 and 150.
The Prat de LlobregatRemco, 43, walks through Terminal T2 of El Prat Airport looking for food in the bins. After a round, he sits next to a column, somewhat hidden from the streams of passengers heading to the boarding area. He is German and speaks little Spanish. He has been sleeping at the airport for some time, and admits that lately they have increased controls at the entrances after dark. "The solution is to spend most of the day inside," he explains. However, he says the security guards and the police treat him well, and that he "understands" that they sometimes take him outside for a few hours. He also admits that there are fewer people sleeping at the airport lately, although he denies persecution by the authorities. Practically every day, he explains, he is able to continue sleeping at El Prat.
Last February, there were about 160 people in the same situation as Remco. At that time, Aena implemented a pilot test Under the supervision of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police): more controls were carried out at the entrances and the homeless were evicted on certain days with the argument that the area needed to be sanitized and cleaned. A similar plan was implemented at Mallorca Airport and in recent days the one at Barajas, in Madrid, It has been at the center of the debate over who should care for the 400 homeless people who sleep there..
According to ARA, the pilot test in Barcelona is here to stay. Police sources indicate that these access controls have been carried out every day since February when night falls at Terminal T2. Basically, there are more Aena private security officers at the entrances to limit access to people who have to catch a flight or pick someone up. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) accompany this operation in case the situation becomes complicated.
In Terminal T1, these controls are carried out three days a week, according to the same sources. This access control, promoted by Aena, also serves to prevent repeat thieves from entering the facilities, since, although crimes are declining, the airport is one of the hottest spots for theft in the country.
No reduction
However, there hasn't been a significant reduction in the number of homeless people sleeping at the airport. Currently, there are between 120 and 150, according to police sources, not far from the 160 in February at El Prat Airport, which left dozens of homeless people sleeping on the streets without offering them alternative housing. In Madrid, for now, the only agreement reached between the city council and Aena is to compile a census of people spending the night at Barajas Airport.
