Madrid - Every morning at 6 a.m. Teresa sets out to find a job, shower and some exercise before she can get home. For about six months, it was Terminal 4 of Madrid International Airport.

Teresa, 54, doesn't want to use her full name due to security concerns, one of the hundreds of homeless people estimated at the Spanish capital airport, as Spain's growing housing crisis has cost particularly fast rents in cities like Madrid, the country's capital and Barcelona.

According to the European Statistics Office, she and others at the airport Adolfosuárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, the third car in Europe in 2023, described a situation in which authorities have neither helped them find other living arrangements nor kicked them out of the corners of the airport, where they had appeared in bed and blankets occupied their sleeping bags.

Soon, things may change.

Spain's airport operator Aena said this week it will start limiting who can enter Madrid airport on low-distance travel, requiring tourists to show their boarding passes. Aena said the policy will take effect in the next few days, but there is no exact specifying when. It said exceptions will be made to airport workers and anyone accompanying travelers.

Teresa, a Spanish racing man who said she had lived in Spain for 25 years, told the Associated Press on Thursday that she hadn't heard of the new policy. If they are not allowed to come back, she and her husband will be forced to sleep in park benches and other public places.

"We can't make a request. We're stolen land without authorization," Teresa said. "Peace of land in private property. We know that. We want the help of the authorities, but no one comes here."

For months, the game of political blame among government officials of different levels means that homeless camps at airports have largely not been resolved. Videos on social media and news reports on the homeless population at the airport have attracted attention in recent weeks.

Madrid City Council said Thursday it has asked Spain's National Government to take responsibility and proposed a plan to restore every homeless person who sleeps at the airport. The Spanish airport is supervised by the state-owned listed company Aena. A spokesman for the city council said the Madrid city government recently called for meetings with officials from Aena, the Madrid regional government and several national ministries.

"With them, there is no possible solution," said Lucía Martín, spokesperson for Social Policy, Family and Equality of Madrid City Council. She said the Ministry of Transport, Interior, Inclusion, Social Rights and Health refused to participate in the task force.

A day ago, Aena accused the Madrid city authorities of insufficient assistance and said the city’s statements about the evolving situation confirmed its “debt of duty” and the abandonment of the homeless at the airport.

“It’s like a dog chasing the tail,” said Marta Cecilia Cárdenas, who was told to help her a long list of authorities. Cárdenas, a 58-year-old homeless woman from Colombia, said she had been sleeping in the Madrid airport for several months.

It is not known how many people sleep at the Madrid airport, which 66 million travelers passed through last year. Spain's El País reported that a recent charge by a charity found about 400 homeless people at the airport, many of whom like Teresa had previously lived in Madrid and were employed in some capacity.

The AP cannot confirm the number. Meanwhile, Madrid City Council officials said the Spanish capital's social services team had contacts with 94 people in April, with 12 recovering from municipal shelters, addiction treatment centers or living independently.

Teresa said she had heard of word of mouth sleeping at the airport. Before losing her job, she said she lived in an apartment near Leganés in Madrid to earn a living for the elderly.

She currently earns 400 euros ($450) a month, works at the dining table and takes care of an old woman. With income, Teresa said, she owns a storage unit near where she once lived. Although the work is sporadic, she said it is still enough to cover the gym cost of showering every day, paying for transportation and buying food.

According to real estate website Mexequista, average rents in Spain have nearly doubled over the past decade, with Madrid and Barcelona rising sharply. Spain also has smaller public housing stocks than many other EU countries.

Teresa said she hopes to get a job and leave the airport soon, and any authorities may force her to do it in the coming days and weeks. She said she and her husband insisted on themselves to avoid others sleeping in the bright hallways, scattered with sleeping bags struggling with mental health issues, addictions and other issues.

"You will eventually make some adjustments to this, and even accept it, but never get used to it," Teresa kept saying in the airline announcement. "I hope God will get better because it's not life."