Dublin Airport taxi drivers using Topaz as unofficial wait area

Taxis operating at Dublin Airport using the airport’s Topaz filling station as an unofficial waiting area cannot be banned by the taxi regulator or the airport authority, it has emerged.

In recent weeks up to eight taxis at a time could be seen at the Topaz station, many parked on double yellow lines on the forecourt and the egress road, with some blocking air and water services as well as the station’s two electric vehicle charging points.

However, the taxi regulator has said it is powerless to act as the site is privately owned. “The matter of taxis parking in an area that is essentially private property is beyond the remit of the NTA as taxi regulator,” the authority said in a statement.

Dublin Airport Authority, which owns the site and has its own police force, requires taxis plying for fares at the airport to join a central queuing system in a special holding area, located on Corballis Way.

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Drivers are required to queue before a variable messaging system that directs those at the top of the queue to either terminal. Taxis are required to operate by permit, which can be cancelled by the airport authority if drivers break any of a number of rules relating to good order.

However, the authority said issues relating to drivers parking on double yellow lines or blocking facilities at the service station were an issue for Topaz.

A spokeswoman said “the Topaz garage parking area is a private area managed and controlled by the tenant, so any issues with parking in that area should be directed to the tenant”.

The spokeswoman said “airport police will assist with public-order offences when required to do so, or if they observe anything untoward while they are patrolling the campus”.

A spokesman for Topaz said it had “a 20-minute waiting time policy for customers parking at the site, which is clearly displayed through on-site signage. In addition, a car park management company supervises the area in an effort to ensure this waiting time policy is adhered to”.

The company’s reply via a statement from its PR advisers did not specifically respond to the question of parking at air, water and electricity services and at double yellow lines.

Irish Taxi Drivers’ Federation president Joe Heron said drivers waiting at Topaz were probably those who were collecting customers who had booked to be collected. Such clients were likely account holders and had to secure taxis from specific firms, as opposed to taking the first taxi out of the holding pen. He said his members would be unlikely to have an issue with those servicing account holders not using the taxi holding area.