The Ministers of Public Works and Transport, Dr. Ali Hamieh, and Tourism, Walid Nassar, along with the Director General of Civil Aviation, Fadi Hassan, discussed the organization of airport taxi operations at the start of the tourist season with Bassam Tlais, the President of the Federation of Land Transport Unions, and Ahmed Al-Moussawi, the President of the Loyalty Transport Union, during a meeting at the Ministry of Public Works.
In this context, Hamieh stated, "Our discussions today focused on the organization and fare of airport taxis. There are 235 taxis at the airport that are subject to a decision issued by the Minister of Public Works and Transport regarding their operation, vehicle specifications, and fare. With the fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate and fuel prices, it has become difficult to fix the fare.” He added, “The unions represented by Mr. Bassam Tlais have shown full readiness and cooperation with the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Tourism, and everyone is willing to organize work within the applicable law. We are currently in a tourist season, and the Minister of Tourism announced that approximately 1.2 million visitors will arrive in Lebanon this summer, with 14,000 passengers and 91 flights arriving in just one day."
He continued, “The Minister of Tourism will coordinate with the Minister of Interior to increase the number of tourist police at the airport to organize the operation of airport taxis. The Director General of Civil Aviation, Engineer Fadi Hassan, as the head of the committee responsible for airport taxis, will call for a meeting with security agencies, the Ministry of Tourism, and relevant ministries to implement a mechanism for organizing airport taxis.”
In response to a question about the French buses, Hamieh said, “A letter has been sent to the Ministry of Interior to register these buses, and we are preparing the specifications for drivers of those buses from the private sector to be conducted through a public tender. I do not have any decision to employ drivers to compete with the private sector, but the work will be complementary between the public and private sectors to enhance and strengthen the role of the private sector, as the state cannot provide transportation across all Lebanese territories without the private sector.”
Regarding fixing the fare, he confirmed that it "is linked to two main factors: the price of gasoline and diesel, and the price of spare parts. When prices are stabilized, we will then fix the fare across all Lebanese territories."
