Terminal 4 of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas in the Spanish capital has been struggling to deal with a reported insect infestation this week, as political tensions grow over rough sleeping at the airport
The largest airport in Spain has been hit by an apparent bed bug outbreak, with passengers and workers claiming they’ve been bitten.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport has been fumigated this week following widespread reports of insect outbreaks, including bed bugs. Some holidaymakers have photographed bite marks they claim to have received during transit through Europe’s second-largest airport.
Airport workers have reported insect bites, prompting the airport’s managing body to hire a pest control company that has fumigated hallways, furniture, and check-in belts for bedbugs, ticks, and cockroaches.
However, a Naturalia report into the alleged outbreak downplayed it, suggesting the bites were “a one-off incident with no determined origin.” The company said in a statement: “The presence of bed bugs is associated with the movement of people and not with the facilities. In the short to medium term, the situation should return to normal.”
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AENA, the airport’s operator, has explained that inspections, monitoring, and prevention treatments had been carried out, and whenever an insect was identified in very limited and defined areas, specific actions were taken. The airport operator assured that it had worked “in coordination” with the cleaning company and the specialised firm to incorporate all necessary hygienic measures and has kept the companies to which these workers belong informed at all times.
It’s not the only issue which airport officials are facing. There are also 421 people without permanent homes sleeping in the airport, according to the latest census conducted by the NGO Cáritas. On occasional nights since February as many as 500 people have been bedding down in one of the terminals, InfoBae reports.
According to a report in El Mundo, the situation in the airport is getting worse. “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. 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 newspaper writes.
Many living there are struggling to get by in a city where living costs and housing prices have shot up in recent years. One Honduran man found himself with no fixed place to stay after moving to Spain two years ago. He sends photographs of tourist attractions in the city to his mum back home, to convince her that he’s prospering in Europe.
But living in the airport is tough. “They stole everything while I was sleeping… I imagine it was someone else desperate from here. They took my transport card, my cell phone, my passport, the only 60 euros I had,” the distraught man told El Mundo.
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During the day many leave the airport and head into the city where they wait with signs offering their services. “Then a van comes and chooses us. But of course, some ask for 60 euros, others 40, others 20… In the end, the one who earns the least is the one who gets the job. He ends up being the most exploited, but at least at the end of the day he has 20 euros in his pocket. This life is very complicated,” the Honduran man explained.
Terminal 4 – where most people who sleep at the airport bed down for the night – has become difficult to navigate for some holidaymakers. The bathrooms are often occupied by people living there and the departure halls have become crowded.
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This week it was reported that AENA will start limiting access to the terminal outside of the busiest times of the day. During parts of the day with fewer flights only passengers with boarding passes, their departing and arriving companions, and airport staff will be able to access the airport terminals, 20 Minutos reports.
A spokesperson for the airport operator has said it will continue to collaborate with social organizations in the third sector to ensure that people experiencing homelessness can access decent housing.
AENA has been contacted for comment.