Czech Competition Authority Once Again Fines Prague Airport Taxi Cartel
The two companies had originally won their services through a tender at Prague Airport
The Czech Competition Authority has once again penalised taxi companies for illegal collusion at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. Between 2019 and 2021, prices and business practices were coordinated to avoid competition.
The Czech Competition Authority has again imposed high fines on Taxi Praha s.r.o. and FIX, spol. s r.o. – totalling over 11 million CZK. Reason: a cartel in the field of taxi and intermediary services to and from Václav Havel Airport in Prague. The ruling is not yet legally binding; the affected companies have already filed appeals, the ÚOHS (Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže) said in a press release today.
In December 2024, the Chairman of the Competition Authority had overturned the original ruling and demanded that the authority clarify whether the matter involved prohibited agreements in the narrower sense, coordinated conduct, or both at the same time.
The renewed review found that between 2019 and 2021, the two taxi companies had indeed made a prohibited agreement. They coordinated their business activities, standardised prices for passengers and drivers, exchanged sensitive business information – and even went so far as to align their visual presentation, including websites, vehicle markings, and apps. The aim of the agreement was to completely eliminate competition together.
The two companies had originally won their services through a tender at Prague Airport in 2016, which was valid for the years 2017–2021 and later extended until 2023. The tender deliberately provided for two suppliers to ensure competition and fair prices for passengers. Instead, the winners coordinated their activities to prevent exactly this competition.
In calculating the fines, the authority followed its standard methodology for breaches of competition law. There were no discounts for settlements or compliance programmes – the companies had lost any such benefits due to their appeals against the original ruling. The final fine amounts to 10,124,000 CZK for FIX and 950,000 CZK for Taxi Praha.
