Mallorca's tourism sector has described the confrontations between taxi drivers and drivers of minibuses - so-called pirate transport - at Palma Son Sant Joan Airport as "shameful".
The executive vice-president of the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, María José Aguiló, says that the federation has been denouncing this problem at the airport for a long time. "The altercations that have occurred affect the image of Mallorca and that of the companies themselves."
"This situation must be normalised as soon as possible, as the public transport service must not be affected in any way. The relevant authorities must adopt the necessary measures. We ask for the maximum consensus among all the affected parties."
The president of the transport federation, Rafael Roig, says that the image is "terrible" and must not be repeated. "Solutions must be sought among all parties so that the problems do not escalate." Tour operators are of the view that their customers should not be affected by poor organisation of transport.
There is to be a meeting between representatives of the taxi and minibus drivers on Friday. Among solutions being proposed are that there should be a ticket office for the minibuses at the airport and that minibuses would collect no fewer than five people. Issues with such proposals include the fact that the Balearic government has its regulations which require advance bookings by any form of transport other than licensed taxis at the airport and that the airports authority would have to agree to such an arrangement.