Hundreds of cabbies on Sunday night blocked the taxi terminal of Thailand's newly opened Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok, protesting over a police arrest and ticketing of a taxi driver, Thai media reported Monday.

 

Protesting taxis blocked entrances and exits to the airport's commuter area while others blockaded the Thai Airways catering building, causing traffic congestion in the airport compound. As many as 300 police were deployed to the site.

 

One of the protesting drivers said the blockade demanded justice for an arrested driver, Bangkok-based English news network The Nation reported Monday.

 

The arrested driver had failed to turn on his meter when ferrying a passenger to the airport, 25 kilometer from downtown Bangkok, from the central Chon Buri province. He argued that taxis travelling interprovincial routes did not have to use meters.

 

The protest organizer, who asked to not be identified, alleged that staff at a company that operated an Airports of Thailand taxi concession were corrupt, who allowed unauthorized taxis to freely pick up passengers at the airport by collecting 20 baht (54 U.S. cents) each as kickbacks, while those who paid 50 baht (US$1.35) to enter the airport had to wait "hours" to collect a fare.

 

The protesting taxi drivers agreed to disperse late Sunday night after police asked them to wait for a week for the management of the airport to decide on measures of taxi services at the airport, which officially opened about two months ago.

 

They threatened to protest again if the airport would not allow them to pick up passengers freely in the airport.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)