The taxi companies that have a contract with the Henri Coanda Airport near Bucharest plan to stop their activity at the airport if a billboard that encourages travelers to use the Uber services will not be removed from there, according to a statement from the Confederation of Authorized Transport Operators in Romania (COTAR), cited by local Agerpres.

The transporters say that they pay EUR 220,000 per year to the airport to have the right to operate in that area. Thus, based on the fact that they pay a large amount of money to operate at the Henri Coanda Airport, they ask the airport management to remove the Uber ad.

"The management of the Henri Coanda Airport in Bucharest entirely ignores all the problems created by the taxi drivers who operate illegally at the airport, and allows Uber cars to access the area. Moreover, the airport has allowed the placement of a billboard, from which Romanian and foreign citizens who need transportation understand that Uber is also a company accredited to make transfers from the airport to any other place," according to COTAR officials.

They also mentioned an incident that happened a few years back, when a student from Japan was killed by a “pirate who was recruiting misinformed and credulous customers.”

“We understand that piracy is encouraged at the Henri Coanda Airport, with all its consequences, from tax fraud to damaging Romania’s image in the world and, consequently, undermining the national economy, but also other criminal offenses such as assault, kidnapping individuals and robbery, and even rape and murder,” COTAR officials added.

They are unhappy with the fact that they had to negotiate for years to be able to operate at the airport, and now the Uber service is just promoted and accepted as a taxi operator.

"We can, as the payers of this EUR 220,000 fee per year, to give an ultimatum to those running the Otopeni Airport: if the billboard advertising the Uber transport system is not removed by Monday, all the taxi companies that pay taxes to operate at the airport will withdraw. We do this for a fair economy in Romania, in accordance with the law, but also because we can’t close our eyes to the dangers the customers are exposed through disinformation," reads the statement.

In return, the Bucharest Airports National Company (CNAB) said that it has no contract with Uber, the ad space being contracted by a media agency, reports Agerpres. Moreover, CNAB said that Uber cars are not allowed in the passenger pickup area, which is reserved exclusively for licensed taxis. Also, the taxis' access to the airport is free, the Airports Company not charging this activity.

"The only money received from taxi companies affiliated with COTAR are the fees related to the advertising these firms are making via the touchscreen terminals at the airport, namely EUR 4,000 per month," CNAB added in a statement.

COTAR also said last week that tax agency ANAF had asked Uber to provide a list of all its drivers and the rides they operated in 2015, as it wants to check if the drivers have declared their revenues and paid their taxes.

In return, Uber said that the services it provides are legally billed and that it provides counselling to partner drivers to help them comply with tax regulation, but that it’s each driver’s responsibility to pay his taxes.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com