Taxi protest hits Paris CDG airport

TRAVELLERS using Paris Charles de Gaulle airport today should allow extra time for their journey because of a protest by taxi drivers.

Several hundred drivers are planning to bring disruption to France's busiest airport this morning. Some roads might be blocked and traffic jams are likely.

The drivers are protesting against new rules banning them from making more than two airport pick-ups in any one day.

The local préfecture wants to cut down on the number of taxis that wait at the airport.

Roissy préfet Patrick Espagnol told TF1 News said there were often queues of up to 400 taxis waiting for a lucrative fare while other parts of the capital had a severe shortage.

He said the préfecture would do all it could to make sure that travellers were not inconvenienced.

Airport pick-ups at Charles de Gaulle airport are heavily regulated. Only Paris taxis are allowed to use the ranks and drivers have to wait several hours in a central area before being dispatched to a specific terminal depending on the schedule of flight arrivals.

Michael Stumpf - Fotolia.com