Spike in Beirut airport pickup fares spark outrage among travelers

BEIRUT: After first restricting private taxi companies’ access to the parking lot 12 months ago, Beirut’s airport has now banished them from picking up travelers all together, much to the dismay of the general population.

Last year, Annahar reported a de-facto battle pitting Uber cabs against the official airport taxis, which saw a crackdown on the low-cost service and the like, including Careem and other traditional taxi services.

After a grueling back and forth behind the scenes between the parties involved, which included representatives from Uber from abroad, their access was then restricted to the parking lot.

Now, a year after the initial crackdown, a new law issued by the Ministry of Public Works reserves entry to the airport merely to the much expensive official airport taxi, with those wishing to override the rule having to walk past the army checkpoint to meet their designated drivers.

A trip from the airport to Beirut’s downtown, a mere distance of 10km, will now cost travelers 50,000 Lebanese pounds if riding with the official airport taxi.

An Uber ride, or any other taxi service for that matter, will set you back around 15 dollars.

The legality of this ruling remains to be seen, with travelers expressing their anger on social media.