Unions welcome the agreement for Barajas but continue to demand the eviction of the homeless.

The new stage of understanding between Madrid City Council and Aena to try to resolve the crisis at Barajas Airport, where more than 400 people spend the night each night, has not only been celebrated by both institutions. The workers also consider this agreement "very good news for them" and "a step in the right direction" to resolve this crisis, explained yesterday in a statement from the Aena/Enaire Trade Union Alternative (Asae). "It was essential to put aside sterile and competitive disputes and focus the problem, as they have done, on the people," they added.

However, "and without wishing to cause controversy," they emphasize, "Aena, that is, the Government Delegation, will have to answer what it intends to do with the homeless who, despite having alternatives offered by the City Council, do not voluntarily wish to leave Barajas." In that case, they request the evacuation of the terminals and outdoor areas in accordance with the new regulations published by the airport operator on May 14: "We know these are politically incorrect and image-based issues, but Barajas has serious problems that need to be solved and not be left aside as it has been up to now." In fact, they also criticize Aena for allowing the arrival of "around 500 people to Barajas across all its terminals without applying its own regulations and without conducting a census of who is in the facility when we are on anti-terrorist alert four."

Regarding the nighttime checkpoints and their effectiveness, they are not aware of more than "50 or 60 people sleeping outside." As they warned before the meeting, these filters are more of an "aesthetic" than an "effective" measure. USO is also not overly optimistic about the effectiveness of these measures, as those who are there "remain there" and those who cannot pass remain outside, "so the insecurity persists," spokespersons for the cleaning workers told this newspaper.

Although after the meeting "there were only good words," they warn, "time and action are required to provide a dignified exit for all these people," they insist.

While this crisis is resolved and a second phase is underway, Asae is calling on the Deputy Mayor of Madrid, Inmaculada Sanz, to "help clean up Barajas Airport by using the Municipal Police, reopening the T4 station, and reaching an agreement with Aena, given the lack of National Police officers, to act both inside and outside the terminals." Currently, they denounce, there are "around 100 people carrying out illegal activities without airport passes, violating airport regulations and causing problems for passengers, businesses, and workers."

The Regional Minister of Housing, Transport, and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, Jorge Rodrigo, celebrated this Friday that Aena has assumed its "responsibility" for the situation at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport due to the presence of homeless people living and spending the night there.

"The most important thing is that the Ministry of Transport and the public company Aena are assuming their responsibility, taking ownership, and taking partial responsibility for the problem, something they haven't wanted to acknowledge in recent days or weeks," the minister stated.

Speaking to the media after opening the General Assembly of the Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM), Rodrigo described as "positive" the agreement reached by the Madrid City Council and the airport operator for an NGO to conduct a census of homeless people in the airport infrastructure, with Aena covering the costs.