Social entities criticize lack of support for homeless people relocated from Barcelona airport

Social entities have criticized that the operation to remove more than a hundred homeless people sleeping in Barcelona airport was not accompanied by social support with an "alternative" accommodation, to avoid "leaving them in the lurch."

The Third Social Sector Board and ECAS (Catalan Entities of Social Action) consider it "unacceptable" that the situation of these homeless people has been "normalized."

The groups made an appeal to public administrations to act because "they have the obligation to guarantee human rights."

They also pointed out that the framework of action to address homelessness, approved in 2022, "has not been fully implemented" and "is not responding to the increasing and chronic situations of homelessness."

The president and CEO of Aena, Maurici Lucena, said on Wednesday that the municipal social services should have the responsibility of taking care of the homeless people who have been relocated. In this way, he justified the relocation operation of the night before.

The CCOO trade union demands "dignified" care and alternative housing for the homeless people removed from the airport.

The union denounced that "the vast majority have not received social and medical assistance" or alternative housing, and argued that it is a "punitive and cosmetic device" for the Mobile World Congress, which gets underway next week in Barcelona.

Relocation

On Tuesday night, airport management company Aena, along with police officers from the Mossos d'Esquadra, undertook an operation to relocate homeless people who sleep in the facility.

Both the Mossos and the city councils of Barcelona and El Prat stated that they are participating in the operation in a welfare capacity.

The El Prat local council assigned a social action technician to the operation who is familiar with the reality of the people's situation.

In total, it's believed that between 100-200 homeless people sleep in Barcelona airport every night.

It also comes in a context in which, for months, airport workers have denounced situations of insecurity in the facility, including thefts, insults, threats, and all kinds of aggression, even sexual.

In October, airport workers demonstrated in Terminal 1 to demand "immediate solutions" to the problems, in a protest that was called by the CCOO trade union. They assured, at the time, that for some time they have been victims of organized gangs of thieves that operate in the airport, and also of some of the homeless people who live in the facilities.