Airports are overwhelmed with rough sleepers as Spain grapples with a housing crisis and the lowest employment rate in the EU. As of March, around 421 people were sleeping rough at Madrid Barajas Airport, according to a count by a Catholic charity group.

Most were men, and half had been sleeping at the airport for more than six months, although 38% said they had a job. Spanish news agency, El Mundo, reported: “What began as a large group of homeless people spending the night, night after night, on Level 1 of Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport has finally become overwhelming.”

It added: “They can now be found on any floor, in any corner, despite the temperature reduction at nightfall or the constant messages over the PA system that resonate every few minutes.”

The airport recently decided to stop allowing people in the airport after 9pm without a boarding pass to try and reduce the number of rough sleepers, which includes pensioners. 

A 67-year old sleeping rough told The Mail Online: “I was in full-time employment for 50 years. I lost my job and I’ve no pension left. That’s how I ended up in this situation.”

One woman in her 60s said: “I got robbed and lost all my documentation, so I have been scraping by and flitting around ever since. Basically, the little money I have isn’t enough to live on outside of the airport.”

A police officer described the airport as a “zombieland”, adding: “Be careful… It can be dangerous here.”

Spain’s airport authority Aena has clashed with city and regional governments over the issue, saying: “Primary social care is the responsibility of the local government,” adding that the city must fulfil its “legal duty to care for vulnerable populations”.

However, Madrid’s conservative Mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, shot back that central government controls Aena and “what’s happening depends on several ministries”.

The country is in the midst of a housing shortage, compounded by the number of properties purchased as holiday lets, and airports across the country are facing a similar situation.

In a decade, monthly rents have soared from about €690 (£582.63) to €1,300 (£1097.70) in Madrid for an average 645 sqft apartment, according to real estate website, Idealista.

Employment is similarly in a bad situation, and as of March 2025, unemployment was at 10.9% in Spain, the highest rate in the EU, according to a labour force survey by Eurostat.

NGO workers who support the homeless have also accused the government of failing the vulnerable group.

Gaspar Garcia, head of the Despega project at the Bokatas NGO, said: “Instead of seeking housing or inclusion solutions, they have decided to relocate them to a very specific area – on the first floor of Terminal 4 – without basic conditions: no cleanliness, no security, no opportunity for real rest.”

Both Aena and the government have agreed to hire a consultancy to count and profile those sleeping at the airport, which is expected at the end of June.