Taxi service collapses at Palma Airport, drivers protest for two hours against illegal taxis
Friday, May 23rd, 2014
Chaos ensued yesterday afternoon at the Son Sant Joan airport due to the taxi drivers.  For about two hours taxis leaving the airport ceased to run and to make matters worse they didn’t let any coach, minibus or pre-arranged taxi leave in protest against the illegal taxis known as ‘pirates’.
The conflict began when a group of professional taxi drivers detected a possible pirate service, causing unrest amongst the drivers.  A Transport Inspector for the government showed up but it wasn’t enough to calm the drivers down.  From that point on chaos grew and came to a head at the airport with more than 200 airport taxi drivers.
The situation caught the security services completely unprepared since there were only the usual security guards on duty at the airport. Â Consequently 20 Local Police officers from Palma and 20 National Police officers traveled to Mallorca Airport and helped unlock the bus departures.
The directors of Mobility and the Court of Public Safety, Gabriel Vallejo and Guillermo Navarro respectively, also appeared at the Palmesano airport in order to resolve the conflict as soon as possible. Â Vallejo ordered EMT buses not to pick up any travelers until the arrivals terminal was cleared. Â However the shuttle service remained from Palma airport.
Demands
The president of the Association of Independent Taxi s, Gabriel Moragues, demanded increased inspections to avoid the presence of pirate taxis. Â Moragues argued that police officers tell them that “they have acted much” but their complaints come to nothing; while from the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Transport, Â they noted that to be able to act police need formal accusations.
The taxi drivers demanded a meeting with the General Directorate of Transport for the Government, the city council of Palma and AENA the airport authority. Â The three parties agreed and yesterday evening the meeting was held at the airport.
During the meeting, the General Directorate of Transport, Juan Salvador Iriarte, vowed to intensify inspection checks, while Guillermo Navarro pledged to increase surveillance by the local police.  Taxi drivers laid down the problems they encounter every season and explained the implications thereof  that the pirate taxi drivers pose to their sector.  The meeting lasted until ten o’clock at night in order to reach an agreement.
by Brendan Bierley
