LIVING IN THE TENERIFE AIRPORT

Living in the Tenerife airport is a harsh reality for around thirty people, and the only way to survive in a dignified manner.

The terminals, the large pedestrian areas, and the parking lot have become the ‘homes’ of men and women without resources. Some of them have been sleeping for years between passengers and suitcases.

The facilities offer them shelter, both during the day and at night, hygiene, and food. “There are some very chronic cases, people who have made the airport their livelihood,” as they resort to “carrying bags for passengers or begging for some change.”

Help Organization

In 2024, the Mobile Street Assistance Unit (UMAC) provided help to 45 people in the surroundings of the Tenerife South Airport, where basic needs and social or psychological support were provided. Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife is currently assisting 30 homeless people who survive in the terminals, parking lots, and surrounding areas of the Tenerife South Reina Sofía Airport.

Tersi Castro, coordinator of the Housing and Social Inclusion Department at Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife, states that “we maintain constant monitoring and visit people at the Tenerife South Airport, as part of our commitment to those who are the last to be helped. This allows us to reach out to people living on the streets who don’t approach Cáritas parishes or any other place to ask for help.”

Designated Area

Over the past five years, Cáritas has regularly helped the homeless people staying at the Tenerife Airport. Currently, they have between 20 and 25 active cases, and there are another five or ten who have rejected our help.

In the past, the airport remained open 24 hours a day, but after some incidents during the night, the management decided that the airport would be closed between 11:00 PM and 4:00 AM, forcing those staying there to leave the premises and “spend those hours as best they can, sheltered outdoors. During the opening hours, homeless people are allowed to stay inside the terminal in a designated area where they can keep their belongings. This prevents them from spreading throughout the entire airport. They are sometimes given food by airport workers and are occasionally allowed to use the bathrooms for personal hygiene.

Intervention

They cannot be expelled as the terminal is a public place, unless they cause a disturbance to public order or create a health issue. This is a chronic situation: there are people who have been living on the streets for many years. Many suffer from alcohol addiction or mental health issues.

There are also people who come to the airport temporarily, “they lost their ticket, their return flight, or their documentation in Tenerife and can’t get back. In these cases, Cáritas offers information, guidance, and support until they can return. For those who have lost their documents due to theft or loss, the organization helps them with the application process. Recently, Cáritas paid the passport issuance fee for a man,” she acknowledged.

Building Trust

According to Cáritas, it is difficult to find alternatives for people who have been lLiving in the Tenerife airport for longer, as they have a source of income and make a living through begging, carrying bags for tips, or doing informal tasks.

“We approach them, and after covering their basic needs (blankets, clothing, a transport pass, or a card with 30 euros), we engage in accompaniment, listening, building trust, and creating a bond. This way, they realize they must leave the streets and seize the opportunity we offer them to enter the available accommodation resources, including the one in Granadilla, where we try to refer them, though there are few free spots.”

Various Reasons

However, there are circumstances that make their inclusion difficult. If they have been living in the Tenerife airport or on the streets for a long time, it is hard for them to adapt to schedules or rules, and if they have addictions, they must overcome them.

Majority Profile: Men Between 36 and 55, and Europeans

According to Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife, 70% of those residing at Tenerife South Airport are men. “There are few women, and they are much less noticeable. They tell us that the airport offers them more security because the police are nearby if they feel they are in danger.” The age range of this group is between 36 and 55 years old, and if there is a case involving a family with minors, “resources are quickly activated.”

Regarding the nationalities of the people helped, 60% are foreign, “most are Europeans who have lost their documents or ticket and cannot return to their country.” There are also nationals who have faced various hardships: divorce, job loss, depression, addiction (alcohol), or people who cannot find housing due to high rental prices or people/families who came to Tenerife with a life project that was derailed, now ending up on the streets.

Number of Cases

There is a large number of homeless people, and the resources are insufficient. Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife tries to help homeless people reintegrate into society in a dignified and respectful manner. In 2024, they assisted 3,667 homeless people in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in addition to those using one of the seven accommodation resources the organization manages on the island.

Most of the homeless people are located in Santa Cruz (36.2% of the total), Arona (12.7%), La Laguna (12%), Adeje (8%), Puerto de la Cruz (8%), and Granadilla de Abona (5.2%).

In the municipality of Granadilla, the Mobile Street Assistance Units (UMAC) helped a total of 196 cases in 2024, 184 of which are still active because it is difficult to get out once you enter homelessness.

Maximum Assistance

Recently, Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife was informed that one of the people they were assisting at the airport had passed away. Sometimes homeless people ask for help to leave, but by then they are in very poor health. Workers and volunteers from Cáritas also encounter situations such as “people who land on the island and tell us, ‘I just arrived with two children, and the person who was supposed to pick us up or house us hasn’t appeared.’

We had to activate resources, with Social Services in Granadilla, take them to a campsite where they were accommodated, and later moved to active resource spaces.” On another occasion, they were informed that there was a family with a minor at the Los Rodeos airport, “we informed the Social Services of La Laguna, and they were referred to a guesthouse, later entering the resources.”

The care for vulnerable people, in collaboration with social services, is always a priority whenever possible, although sometimes we find that resources are saturated. There are many homeless people in Tenerife, and the resources available are completely insufficient to address the full reality of people in residential exclusion.

Cáritas offers them information, advice, and support, as well as food vouchers, transport vouchers, clothing, bedding, etc., so that they can stay in the most dignified conditions and cover costs for medicines or medical assistance.

Projects

Cáritas Diocesana de Tenerife’s Housing and Social Inclusion Department has three active projects. The so-called “Base 25” prevention project, which supports families or individuals at risk of losing their homes. It also has a network of accommodation resources for people with addictions, and the Mobile Street Assistance Units (UMAC) that reach out to people living on the streets, in substandard housing, caravans, or cars.