Taxi parking at the airport to be closed from midnight to 5am as from March 20 |17 March 2023

The press conference: (l to r) Inspector Sicobo, Mr Khan, Mr Albert and Mr Adrienne

As from Monday March 20, 2023, the taxi parking at the Seychelles International Airport will be closed from midnight to 5am.

The decision has come about following several complaints from taxi drivers themselves and other authorities regarding the disorder of the taxi rank at the airport at Pointe Larue.

The announcement was made yesterday by the chief executive of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) Garry Albert together with the director general of the department of Land Transport Elvis Adrienne, an inspector of the Seychelles Police Andre Sicobo and the head of security at SCAA Sabry Khan.

This measure is temporary and will last for three months. All other cars, buses, vans will have access to the airport 24/7.

“A meeting was held during the week with the various stakeholders including the representatives from the Taxi Association, the Seychelles Police, Land Transport and SCAA to discuss the best way forward. This is not the first time that SCAA has faced the media to answer questions on taxi drivers at the airport. We have also been informed to provide clarification on what we are doing to solve the taxi disorders,” explained Mr Albert.

Mr Albert reiterated some of the issues regarding taxi drivers such as leaving their cars unattended, fighting among themselves, sleeping in the cars, refreshing themselves in the car park.

“There are some taxi drivers who go home at night and when they come back in the morning, they are blocked by unattended cars. We have seen many incidents and once and for all we hope with this new temporary measure we will have order at the airport,” added Mr Albert.

However for early morning flights like Kenya Airways, the taxis will be allowed to come pick the clients.

Mr Adrienne noted that around 15 to 20 taxis stay at the airport at night and no alternative ways of parking have been decided. “Taxis will have to find their parking but cannot park around the roundabout as they will be fined. If ever a taxi driver is misbehaving, he will be reported to the Seychelles Licensing Authority and his license can be revoked,” he stated.

Inspector Sicobo noted that a team from the Seychelles Police will be at the airport on Tuesday early morning to ensure the smooth running of the operation.

Vidya Gappy

Photos: Joena Meme