183 Mexican travelers have been stranded in Madrid's airport for days on end

Nearly 200 Mexicans have been stuck at the airport in Madrid, Spain, for days on end, unable to fly home and running out of money to buy food at airport prices.

The travelers flew to Spain with budget tickets from Aeromexico, which offers low prices in exchange for no guarantee of a seat on full flights. Passengers must stay in the airport until a seat becomes available, which for some of these 183 travelers hasn't happened in as long as two weeks.

The tickets are exclusively sold to Aeromexico employees and their relatives, and the airline says it warned them not to fly at busy times, when their standby status could lead to lengthy waits. The travelers have appealed to the Mexican embassy in Madrid without success and have now set up a Facebook page asking for help with food, lodging, and other assistance.

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