Taxis serve int'l passengers at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport as usual

SAMUT PRAKAN, THAILAND, April 24 (TNA) - Taxi drivers at Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport have continued serving international passengers as usual, after reaching an agreement with the airport’s administrators. Refuting earlier media reports that taxi van drivers operating at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport were threatening to strike until April 26 after airport officials had urged them to take more than four passengers at a time, a taxi driver told journalists on Friday that driver representatives held talks with airport officials on April 23 and reached an agreement. Under the agreement, each taxi van carries a maximum of four passengers at a time, in line with the standard accident insurance policy, which covers a maximum number of four passengers at a time. Authorities have put up posters at the Suvarnabhumi Airport to inform international visitors that, starting from April 24, 2015, each taxi van is to carry a maximum of four passengers at a time and use taxi metres, instead of demanding flat-rated fares from passengers. The driver conceded that the strike, if carried out, would tarnish national image, calling on the Ministry of Transport to also speed up its approval of raising fares of taxi vans and service fee. Meanwhile, Suvarnabhumi International Airport Deputy Director Dalat Assawet told reporters that driver representatives have promised to continue providing services at the airport, while airport authorities have asked taxi drivers to strictly follow the traffic law and not to demand flat-rate fares from passengers. (TNA)