Airport tout war going badly

Police who promised to end the operations of the operations of cheating unlicensed black-plate taxis and illegal tour guides at Suvarnabhumi airport by mid-June have admitted a first-round defeat - but will try again.

Last month, Pol Maj-Gen Wut Liptapanlop, deputy chief of Police Region 1, vowed a major crackdown that would take the touts and illegal guides out of the airport within 15 days.

On Sunday, Pol Maj-Gen Wut urged Airports of Thailand (AoT) to apply tax laws to curb the illegal operators, and vowed it would take just 15 days.

But police have essentially given up. The new plan to halt the activities of illegal guides-cum-taxi drivers who prey on visitors requires action by the Airports of Thailand.

AoT chairman Saprang Kalayanamitr gave the request to use tax laws to attack the so-called black-taxi rogues weak support, agreeing to discuss the matter with the Revenue Department this week.

Pol Maj-Gen Wut said 36 gangs of illegal taxi drivers are active at Suvarnabhumi airport. They work for companies that between them operate about 3,000 illegal taxis.

Their operations damage the national image because some of their customers are assaulted and robbed.

Authorities have no record of the vehicles' registration numbers or the drivers so it is difficult to keep track of them, Pol Maj-Gen Wut said.

Last May 28, Pol Maj-Gen Wut was confident he could wipe out the problem within 15 days.

To clean up the mess, Police Region 1 would seek the cooperation of other police units to crack down on unlicensed taxi drivers, he said, adding both criminal and civil laws would be strictly enforced against them.

If caught, drivers would face a maximum fine of 2,000 baht each and have their driving licences seized while the cab operators would face back-taxes. Police already know who are the operators. He said a crackdown would also be launched against illegal tour guides operating at the airport.

Pol Maj-Gen Chayut Thanataweerat, Samut Prakan police chief, said a court order would be sought to prohibit black-plate taxi drivers and illegal tour guides from operating at designated areas in the province.

from Bangkok Post 2007-06-25