Spain to limit access to Madrid’s airport as homeless camp in

People sleep on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MADRID, Spain — Spain’s airport authority will start to limit access to Madrid’s airport during some parts of the day. This is a preventive measure to stop more homeless people from sleeping in its terminals.

Only travelers with boarding passes, airport employees and those accompanying someone with a ticket will be allowed in the airport. This will be so during hours with few departing and arriving flights, Spain’s airport authority AENA said late Wednesday night.

AENA will implement the  limits sometime in the next few days. However, it did not specify exactly when or during what hours of the day.

READ: Spain announces new measures to tackle housing crisis

For months, the Spanish capital’s airport has seen homeless encampments in some of its terminals. Individuals in sleeping bags occupy space near walls and bathrooms. 

Local media described the number of homeless people to be in the hundreds.

This week, AENA said it had asked Madrid city officials for help in addressing the problem months ago. Ye, it has so far received insufficient help.

READ: Spain hosted record 94 million foreign tourists in 2024

“Airports are not places designed for living in, but rather are infrastructure solely for transit, which in no case offers adequate conditions for overnight stays,” AENA said in a statement Wednesday.

A political blame game between authorities at different levels of government has left the issue largely unaddressed. This is happening as the peak summer travel season approaches.

Spain received a record 94 million international tourists in 2024.