Airline passenger news and views

Last evening I watched a report on a local news channel that said that at any one time there are up to thirty people calling Gatwick Airport their home, as they have nowhere else to go.

Homelessness is a very controversial subject, some are of the opinion that there is no need for it, others on the other hand are sympathetic. I tend lean towards the latter.

I think at times adults, or teenagers can in fact get into a 'catch twenty two situation' Maybe home life is not what it should be, and they leave home in search of a better life, only to discover it is much tougher to find that dream ending that they had hoped for, and the reality is much harder. As a result, no money, no home, no address, no work. I can understand how people may end up living in an airport.

It brings to mind a case a couple of years ago where Anthony Delaney had narrowly escaped prison but reaped the wrath of the judge at Lewes crown court for breachin g an asbo which banned him from Gatwick airport where he had lived for more than three years.

The court heard that the 43-year-old chef did not suffer from mental health problems, was neither a drug nor alcohol addict and did not cause any problems. Instead, he is said to have told his barrister that he was happier staying there because he was "clean, dry and warm".

Delaney's story - reminiscent of the film The Terminal in which a man played by Tom Hanks makes JFK airport his home - is not unique. Three other people have received asbos for repeatedly using Gatwick as their home, and up to 30 make makeshift beds in the airport each night, according to charities. BAA said it did not recognise the figure of 30 people sleeping at Gatwick but could not estimate what the number was because anyone found doing so would be moved on.

Campaigners say the phenomenon of rough sleepers who gravitate towards the warmth and safety offered by airports is part of the problem of "hidden homelessness" - people who are not counted in official figures because they are not sleeping on the streets.

These people are often off the radar.The charity Crisis recently estimated that there are up to 400,000 people considered "hidden homeless". They do not qualify to get support, such as emergency accommodation, but often sleep in squats or stay with friends or relatives. Others may bed down in sheds and outbuildings, airports and bus and train stations, or try to sleep on night buses. The usual image of rough sleeping is not the only type of homelessness it would seem, in fact a good majority of it is hidden, but still remains a fact of life.

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