Who should take care of the 400 homeless people living in poverty at Madrid airport?
Aena and the City Council agree to compile a census of people staying overnight at the facility to provide them with social care.
BarcelonaHomelessness at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, where more than 400 people have found shelter, has led to the umpteenth war between the Spanish and Madrid governments. After weeks of back-and-forth over which institution is competent to address this delicate situation, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and the president of Aena, Mauricio Lucena, met this Thursday and, for the time being, agreed to conduct a census to identify everyone who spends the night at the airport. The census will be carried out throughout the month of June and will be commissioned by a third sector entity (Fresno), and based on the results obtained, Almeida assured that the council will be in a position to "provide the best possible social assistance" depending on the problems that each of those affected may have.
Aena and Sánchez argue that since the terminals are located in Madrid, social care should fall to municipal workers, so they will offer "help" through NGOs or municipal social services, although only a dozen have wanted to move to foster accommodation. In this sense, the council says it does not have legal backing to make any "forced relocation" from public spaces. access between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. sine dieThis means that only passengers with travel documents and their companions will be allowed access. On the first night of checks, security guards prevented 150 people from entering. Inside the terminals, 170 overnight stays were counted.
Close doors and "fumigate"
According to Aena, this measure is being applied in accordance with current legislation, the private security law, since, based on its powers as the airport management company, "it has the duty to ensure smooth airport operations and air transport, protecting the facilities with standards of proper use for the best conservation, management, and administration." This is a similar operation to the one it carried out at El Prat Airport in February. Lucena himself cited as an example "the diligent management of Catalan public institutions" in the face of a similar problem.
Social organizations had repeatedly warned of the lack of residential resources and assistance for people in vulnerable situations, who end up spending the night in airport terminals due to the lack of alternatives. For Martínez-Almeida, "the problem is not solved by closing doors or fumigating the airport," but rather "with a social action plan." "What do I do? Do I come with the municipal police and a bus and get them out of there? Do I force them into shelters?" he asked.
The ombudsman demands explanations.
The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, has also initiated an action to demand that the authorities jointly address "as soon as possible" the situation of "vulnerable" people who spend the night at Barajas Airport "in precarious conditions." On the one hand, he has requested information from the Madrid City Council regarding the intervention being carried out by municipal social services and its coordination with other administrations. On the other hand, he expanded an action initiated since March with Aena to explain how they plan to "address this social emergency" and "the scope" and "legal basis" of the measures announced to strengthen access controls during nighttime hours.