On Monday, taxi drivers at Palma Son Sant Joan Airport suspended service for two and a half hours following the latest clash with 'pirate' operators.
This particular incident involved drivers of minibuses, said to have been picking up without prior appointments. It arose when a taxi driver confronted minibus drivers, accusing them of acting illegally and describing them as "pirates". One of the minibus drivers slapped him. Once images of what had happened started to be disseminated, a group of taxi drivers decided to stop work. Others soon joined them. Between 2.30pm and 5pm, the taxi drivers refused to take passengers except families with children, the elderly, people with mobility problems and ones who were going to hospitals.
The National Police and airport security had to intervene in order to prevent violence. Insults were traded, the taxi drivers keeping up a shout of "pirates". The taxi drivers criticised the fact that no one from Palma town hall went to the scene and that there weren't any Palma police officers.