The long queues to get a taxi have returned to Lanzarote airport and were especially felt last weekend. On Saturday, the queue even went beyond the T1 building and continued around the curve of the road, which has generated complaints from users and has revived an old debate about this service.
From the San Bartolomé taxi cooperative they assure that this episode was something “one-off” and ask that this photograph not be taken “out of context”, while the tourist employers consider that measures should be taken. “A tourist cannot take away that image of Lanzarote”, affirms the president of Asolan and of the Tourist Federation of the island, Susana Pérez.
The president of the municipality's taxi driver cooperative, Echeide Padrón, maintains that this "does not usually happen" and even assures that the queues on Saturday were dissolved "in 15 or 20 minutes", after asking for drivers from other municipalities. "Several flights came together at the same time, together with others that were late ," explains Padrón, who insists that in these cases they turn to colleagues from Arrecife or Tías. "When we are overwhelmed, we ask for taxis from other municipalities," he says, assuring that "they have no problem" in doing so because "they are not interested in keeping tourists waiting."
However, from the tourist board they believe that it is necessary to "optimize" the service, to prevent these queues from occurring. “With the information on flight arrivals, taxis can be mobilized”, Susana Pérez defended on Radio Lanzarote - Onda Cero.
In addition, she considers that it is not enough to open the airport to other taxi drivers when there is a peak in demand. “Let's talk about a sustainable service. If there is a taxi that goes to Playa Blanca, or another from the south that has to take a passenger, it cannot leave empty, whether it is 30, 35 or 10 kilometers,” Pérez argues.
Increase in demand due to the lack of rental cars and the pandemic
Regarding the situation that is currently being experienced, from the San Bartolomé taxi cooperative they affirm that it is an "atypical" moment caused by several factors, which mean that demand is increasing. “There are no rental cars, and tourists prefer not to use collective transport (due to the pandemic). They are temporary problems until this is normalised, ”justifies Padrón.
Employers have already been warning of these factors, stating that it is not just a problem at the airport. In fact, Susana Pérez has insisted that some weekends she continues to call people "with the possibility of missing the flight" for not getting a taxi at times of high demand.
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