Long queues for taxis at the airport. | B.M.

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There is more chaos at the airport. The problem with pirate operators, which recently led taxi drivers to "go on strike" for three hours, is not the cause - that problem appears to have been solved since the transport ministry sent in a group of inspectors. The latest one, according to the president of the self-employed taxi drivers association, Biel Moragues, is chaos with parking.

He says that the lack of local police means that the arrivals area can be brought to a standstill. Because of the amount of vehicles, there can be delays of up to thirty minutes. Passengers wanting taxis therefore have to wait in long queues.

If the town hall doesn't do something to remedy the situation, Moragues adds that the taxi drivers will stage another stoppage, this time to denounce the town hall's inaction. He observes that Palma receives 12 million euros in property tax from Aena and is concerned that things will only get worse as the number of passengers increases through the summer.

The Balearic transport businesses federation has also criticised the town hall, and it is said that tour operators have as well. Aena, meanwhile, has stressed that there has to be rational use of coach parking at the terminal. It is checking to see if tour operators are obliging transport companies to station coaches well before flights actually arrive.

The town hall, for its part, is insisting that Aena reintroduce the half hour free parking in the multi-storey car park. This would assist in reducing traffic "saturation". The town hall acknowledges that inconvenience is being caused, but it points out that there is no agreement as such with Aena regarding the deployment of local police. The police themselves say that the organisation of traffic is in fact Aena's responsibility and that queues for both departures and arrivals are the consequence of Aena policies.