Lisbon, Aug. 13, 2025 (Lusa) - More than two hundred taxi drivers at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon have been on strike since late Wednesday morning in protest against ‘touts’ soliciting customers inside the airport, a source from the Portuguese Taxi Federation told Lusa.

Speaking to Lusa, Carlos Silva, the newly elected leader of the FPT, explained that he had gone to the scene after learning that there was a situation unfolding at the airport between taxi drivers and so-called ‘touts’ for customers.

‘'There is a situation with touts who have cars painted in taxi colours, but they are not taxis, nor do they represent other transport alternatives [TVDE - ride hailing app], which has caused an uprising and indignation," said Carlos Silva.

He added that the taxi drivers working at the airport "spontaneously stopped work", raising their voices in indignation at a situation which, he said, "is nothing new".

According to Carlos Silva, at around 4 p.m., there were between "250 and 300 taxi drivers" stopped in the upper and lower taxi ranks, who had not picked up passengers "since the end of the morning", a situation that should be resolved “soon”.

"We are taking over the Federation and sending letters to the authorities to request meetings.This issue has to be addressed, something has to change," he said, acknowledging that this is a problem that has been discussed for some time.

According to Carlos Silva, taxi drivers "remain outraged" by the situation, adding that a compromise had been reached with the authorities present at the scene to speed up a meeting on the matter.

A source from the Lisbon Metropolitan Police Command confirmed to Lusa that officers were called to a situation at the airport, "which is not a demonstration".

"The taxi drivers rebelled against the touts who are at the airport door and go inside, and they exchanged words," he said.

According to the source, the initial group consisted of "about 20 taxi drivers".

RCP/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa