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Tourists inconvenienced while Cozumel taxi drivers protest competition

Cozumel, Q.R. — Workers at the Cozumel International Airport who assist tourists with their luggage were forced to work ‘off site’ Saturday. Tourists arriving at the air terminal by shuttle buses were disrupted for around four hours due to a taxi driver protest.

The drivers were protesting against the issuance of licenses for competition such as CozuShuttle and FlexShuttle to operate. Dozens of drivers were seen outside the air terminal Saturday to prevent the CozuShuttle and FlexShuttle companies from traveling with passengers.

The taxi drivers carried signs claiming the two companies “come from outside to take the money that should stay in the town,” while others had signs that requested the intervention of Governor Mara Lezama to stop “illegal transportation.”

One of the two largest banners that the taxi drivers were carrying was addressed to named people the CozuShuttle company which read “Remember your relatives are founding members of the Cozumel Taxi Drivers Union and with your actions you are harming them as well as the more than 300 families that depend on this economic activity.”

The other was addressed to a representative of FlexShuttle: “You intend to fill your pockets at the expense of the working people of Cozumel without caring about breaking the law, but you know we are not going to allow it. Get out of Cozumel.”

Tourists were forced to use Cozumel taxis to get to and from the airport Saturday. Photo: August 24, 2024.

The protest came after a transport van had several of its windows broken by rocks. The incident happened Saturday outside a hotel at kilometer 17.7 of the southern coastal highway.

The rock attack has been attributed to four people dressed in civilian clothes who arrived in a car and fled after the attack. A couple of workers who were traveling in the van at the time the rocks were thrown were treated by paramedics and interviewed by police. There were no arrests.

The attack occurred at the same time as Cozumel taxi drivers were protesting against the shuttle vans transporting tourists outside the Cozumel International Airport.