Ottawa airport taxi driver lockout continues

The labour dispute is heating up between airport taxi drivers and their dispatcher, Coventry Connections.

On day two of the dispute airport taxi drivers formed a picket line outside of the airport, shouting angrily at other taxi drivers who were picking up customers from the airport taxi stand.

The airport taxi drivers have been locked out of their stand since Tuesday morning, which prompted a day-long protest that saw the drivers circling the airport, causing traffic delays and honking their horns.

"Right now cars are still able to access the arrivals curbso we're not seeing as much of a slowdown as yesterday," said Ottawaairport authority spokesperson Krista Kealey.

"We'll be watching to see what happens throughout the day."

'People who cross picket lines, people remember them'

Airport security and Ottawa police have been keeping an eye on the pickets.

"We are very sensitive to the safety issue ... We did not do anything that hurt public safety, and throughout our lockout we will continue that," said Amrik Singh,president of the taxi drivers' union, Unifor Local 1688.

He also discouraged other taxi drivers from coming to the airport to pick up customers.

"We are asking every driver from downtown not to come to the airport and pick up fares. ... Those people who cross picket lines, people remember them for years to come," Singh said.

Coventry Connections, Ottawa's largest taxi company, runs a fleet of about 150 taxis that pick people up from the airport and has a long-term contract with the airport to do so.

The airport had been charging Coventry an unsustainable,low figure for exclusive pick-up rights for years, according to Coventry's CEO, and is now charging more.

That cost, passed on to the drivers Coventry dispatches, now amounts to about $5 per pick-up instead of the former $1.50 to $2. The drivers are not happy about that hike.

People arriving at the airport have been asked to come up with alternate pick-up arrangements if possible.

Shuttles, bus services, sedans and limousines are available for arriving passengers, the airport authority said, along with a free grace period of one hour in the parkade for the course of the labour dispute.