Taxi drivers issue warning over queues at Barcelona Airport

Taxi drivers have issued a warning that pick-up services could collapse at Barcelona Airport's T1 if more staff are not allocated to manage the queues.

They staged a symbolic 15-minute protest on Friday, beeping their horns and blocking access to the terminal's passenger pick-up area, known as the tube.

The demonstration was organized by Élite Taxi, whose spokesperson Tito Álvarez criticized the contractor for the queue management service (Optima) for their "poor coordination and lack of personnel."

Airport management company Aena indicated that it was working with Optima to resolve "the imbalances" that have occurred in recent days.

Álvarez said that the protest was a "first warning" and that if the situation drags on, the drivers' response will step up from next week. The spokesperson specified that there will be "intermittent stops, blockades and whatever is needed" in order to fix the problem.

He asked for the previous coordinator to be reinstalled, claiming the current manager "has no idea."

Hour-long queues

The spokesman for Élite Taxi said that visitors' queues can stretch for an hour, while "about 800 vehicles" remain within a kilometer, because "there are not enough people" managing the travelers who arrive in the collection zone. 

This, the taxi driver continued, means that "the service is precarious" and the image of both the sector and the city of Barcelona is "damaged."

Aena said that they are working to "guarantee the quality of the service."