“The Hidden Homelessness at Brussels Airport: A Look into the Lives of Those Who Sleep at the Terminal”

Thursday, a little before eight in the evening. There are still a few dozen travelers at the check-in desks at Zaventem, but the predominant sound of rolling trolleys has died down, a pleasant bustle remains. A security guard shuffles past. “Where are the homeless? Well, at the Delhaize on the second”, she sighs.

It’s a bit like ‘The Terminal’, the movie in which Tom Hanks is stuck in a New York airport, but people who live in the airport for months or years really exist. At Brussels Airport, there are currently about 75. The airport confirms that this number is higher than in recent years.

We get talking to a man from Leuven, he is in his late thirties. “I’m a dancer and I’m going to give a performance here soon,” he says quite enthusiastically. The man is wearing a brown jacket, army pants and sneakers. His cart is packed with suitcases and plastic bags. “Yes… I have had problems with my apartment in Heverlee and have been waiting for a social housing from the OCMW for several months now. I’ve been sleeping here ever since. See that man over there at the ATM? He sleeps next to me. You wouldn’t say it, but he’s homeless too.” The man, in his forties, is freshly shaved, wears tight suit trousers and a stylish winter sweater. He also has a cart with suitcases. You automatically think it’s a passenger. The man nods once. “And that woman over there!” It is immediately clear how the homeless are as unobtrusive as possible by pretending to be waiting travelers.

Water, toilets and heat

“The police had already given us a letter that we had to be gone by the end of March, but many homeless people have not found another place to stay,” the thirty-year-old from Leuven tells us. “The deadline has been extended to May, but they absolutely want us out.” He is getting a bit impatient: he wants to go to the arrival hall to dance and earn some money. “Holidaymakers are really sweet,” he says, pointing to his Samsonite briefcase. “Owned from a passenger, just like this watch.”

Margaret (44), a single woman with Polish roots, also wants to tell her story. She sits gracefully with her legs crossed on a chair, like another homeless man with an airplane pillow on the neck. Margaret is neatly dressed. She wears a blue linen pullover with a gray cap, green leggings and sneakers from Nike. Her nails are painted red. “I walk around with clothes and make-up that travelers have lost. That’s why I’m often unrecognizable,” she says. “Travellers also often throw shampoo or shower gel in the rubbish bin because their suitcase weighs too much. With that I can wash myself in the evening.”

“I worked as an economist in Poland for 16 years, but wanted to start my own company,” she continues in English. “Before that I moved to the Netherlands, but my company went bankrupt. I failed and now I’m in big financial trouble. My family in Poland thinks I should sort it out myself. I thought it would be easier to find help or work in Belgium, but…” The woman gets emotional. “I don’t really know which help I can turn to. I slept one night in the center of Brussels, where my mobile phone was stolen and now I am also unreachable. So I’ve been here for half a year. But if you’re homeless, there’s no better place than the airport. We have water, toilets and heat. And there is security, as a woman I find that important. Nobody bothers me.”

According to Margaret, there are homeless people who have been ‘living’ here for years, one for six years. “In the morning I read some newspapers that were left behind, I try to learn some English and approach people for help. Or I go to the hostel in the area to use a computer for a while. But it’s tough. Lonely.”

Dozens of complaints

The traders are tired of the many homeless, because a few go too far too often. The Delhaize branch at the airport has already filed dozens of complaints with the police. “I even handed over a USB stick with camera images, but nothing is happening,” said responsible Kane (44). “I’ve been working here for eight years now and it’s never been this bad. Beer is stolen or argued every day. They make too much noise, harass customers and call them names. One of the homeless, Constantin – yes, the manager already knows them by name – recently urinated drunk between the shop shelves. Yesterday they set fire in the garbage cans. It is unbelievable. The homeless people from Eastern Europe are really dangerous, I’ve already had to fight twice in the store. The security agents are doing their best, I know, but something urgently needs to change,” he concludes.

‘s closed at night

Brussels Airport acknowledges the problem and says that it has been decided to give security officers more shifts to prevent nuisance. The airport will also close for the first time between midnight and three a.m. from Tuesday. “Normally it is indeed open 24/7, it is a temporary closure of a few weeks,” says spokeswoman Ihsane Chioua Lekhli. “On the one hand, because this is not a shelter for the homeless – that’s a problem the government needs to work on. On the other hand, we will do a major cleaning during that period to prepare for the summer period, which is not possible if there are people in the airport.” The homeless have been informed about the closure and other shelter locations by chaplains from the airport and aid workers from the CAW who visit several times a week.