Four days of Barcelona taxi driver protests at airport next week against 'fake taxis'

Barcelona taxi drivers are gearing up for four days of protests against 'fake taxis' at the El Prat airport next week as was announced by the Élite Taxi group spokesperson, Tito Álvarez, on Tuesday.

This will begin on Monday with a "surprise" event at the Terminal 1 lobby and a work stoppage from 10 am to midday.

On Tuesday, they have promised they will engage in "hellish whistling" in the arrivals area for 30 minutes every two hours, while on Wednesday there will be a slow drive protest between terminals 1 and 2. This, Álvarez said, will likely block access to the facilities. 

The following day, taxi drivers will once again "invade" the Terminal 1 lobby from 10 am to midday and hold an assembly to decide whether to continue protesting in the city center if airport operator Aena and the Catalan interior department do not meet their demands. 

€880 tourist scam

'Fake taxis', the Élite Taxi spokesperson said, scam tourists by charging them up to €880 to go to the city center. Licensed taxi drivers, on the other hand, charge around €30 for the same distance. 

According to Tito Álvarez, licensed taxi drivers who patrol the airport have already kicked out 45 unlicensed drivers who were operating out of Terminal 1.

"We calculated how many hours they work, their shifts, and their cars and we realized that they were stealing 800 to 1,000 rides from us every day," Álvarez said. "This is a lot of money."

Information stand and more police

Because of this, taxi drivers have called on both Aena and the Catalan government to take action to prevent scams that they say harm both tourists and their livelihood. 

"Aena is a disaster," Álvarez told the press. "There is no clear signage and travelers get lost in the airport," he said, adding that "they have no idea where the ramp to the taxi stop is."

The Élite Taxi spokesperson said that taxi drivers had already asked Aena to set up an information stand, remove the barriers preventing travelers from waiting in live for a taxi with luggage trolleys, and to have periodic announcements informing tourists that "yellow and black" are the colors of licensed taxis that can be found at "official stands." 

They have also requested the interior department send more Mossos d'Esquadra police officers to prevent 'fake taxis' from tricking tourists into hiring their services. 

Both Aena and the interior department offered to meet with taxi drivers, but this was canceled as Élite Taxi wants to discuss the matter directly with airport director Sonia Corrochano and interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena.