Look At Vietnam - Tan Son Nhat International Airport has started to tighten controls on airport taxis to make life easier for travellers.

The move came after a flood of complaints about rogue airport taxis who have been troubling passengers, said Phan Le Hoan, director of the airport’s Terminal Ultilisation Company.

The company re-arranged parking places, increased supervision and tightened management to make sure they are not able to cheat passengers, he said.

At a meeting with representative of more than 10 airport taxi firms, airport authorities asked taxis to manage their operations better.

“The company will also work with police to impose heavy punishments on violators and will forbid them from operating at the airport in the future if they violate new rules,” Hoan said.

Deputy chief inspector of HCM City’s transport department Le Hong Viet said the department was working with airport authorities to map out inspection plans for the next week so that violations can be handled speedily to protect passengers.

Chief inspector of the department Le Vinh Phat said that taxis which disturbed the peace and failed to show a business licence would be fined between VND200,000 and 2 million (US$11-117).

Violators might also have their vehicles confiscated and their business licence revoked depending on the severity of the violation, he said.

VietNamNet/VNS