Limassol taxi drivers have threatened further strikes, even closing the airports, after their four-hour work stoppage on Wednesday if their demands are not met over cracking down on moonlighting drivers.

“For several years now we have seen piracy multiplying,” president of the Pancyprian taxi federation Dinos Constantinou said.

Pointing to the April 2024 legislation change that aimed to crack down on illegal taxi services, Constantinou said: “we see no one being moved, nothing being done, only consultation upon consultation and zero result.”

He added that on the contrary, while legal taxi drivers’ turnover faced turnover losses of 40 per cent, at the very same time illegal services had increased. This, he claimed, was partly due to mobile apps through which “thousands of illegal taxi drivers” would offer their services.

Constantinou warned that unregulated ride-hailing apps pose a legal risk, as illegal drivers can charge “any fare”, potentially overcharging customers while leaving them without insurance coverage.

Taxi drivers have urged the government to take action by enforcing regulations on taxi services, particularly during the peak summer season when demand exceeds the number of professional, licensed drivers.

They also called for stricter policing, monitoring and enforcement against undeclared work, threatening that if their demands remain unmet, “we will all go to the presidential palace, to the ministries, to Nicosia and we will also close the airports” in three weeks.

The taxi drivers have repeatedly complained about illegal “pirate” vehicles operating from squares, ports and airports, “stealing [their living and] stealing from the state”. They accused the government failing to act upon the issue, resulting in financial losses for both licensed drivers and the public sector.

Limassol taxi drivers had turned off their engines from 8am to noon on Wednesday to raise awareness of the challenges they face.