As if we weren’t getting humiliated enough every time we decide to travel from and to Beirut’s airport, the latest measures implemented at the airport forbid any taxis, except authorized ones, from driving past the army checkpoint therefore forcing passengers who don’t want to get ripped off by the airport’s “white taxis” to walk almost 1 km to hop on their Uber or any other unauthorized taxi company. To make things even worse, taxis who wish to pick up their customers from the airport gates need to get a permission for EVERY FLIGHT!

Just imagine what this means if you’re a person with disabilities or have children and can’t afford the outrageous prices offered by these taxis.

To be honest, I don’t know why it is so hard to organize the taxi lineup at the airport and offer reasonable prices. The parkings are almost always empty and there’s no reason why they should forbid any taxi company from picking up customers. Asking unauthorized taxis to line up beyond the army checkpoint while white taxis continue to rip off passengers is the dumbest solution one can possibly come up with. And to make things even worse, even the authorized taxis are not properly organized and don’t miss a chance to harass passengers on their way out.