Taxis threaten to blockade airport in insurance row

TAXI drivers at Larnaca Airport are threatening to block off the airport next Thursday in a move expected to cause travel chaos.

The Larnaca Urban Taxi Union is planning the 24-hour demonstration in protest against the government forcing them to use a specific insurance company for their taxis.

President of the Union, Christakis Nicolaou, was furious yesterday. “This is totally unfair and is akin to a monopoly. We should have the right to choose our own insurance companies. One of our drivers has just been quoted £750 to renew his policy.”

He added that the government “is making fun of us and all drivers must stick together to bring insurance down. Petrol is really expensive now, so with the increased cost of insurance, we will not be able to survive.”

Drivers from Ayia Napa are also expected to join Thursday’s demo, in which taxis will create a roadblock at the airport’s main entrance, meaning no cars will be able to get in or out.
Nicolaou insisted the move was not meant to inconvenience tourists, “who we will help as best we can.”

Antonis Lemesianos, manager of Larnaca Airport, told the Cyprus Mail that “discussions will take place in an effort to stop the demonstration from going ahead – that is the priority. If the strike does go ahead, it is then the responsibility of the police to stop the taxis from blocking the road and they should ensure that the roundabout just outside the airport is not blocked. If the demonstrators manage to block the roundabout, then the airport will close.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.