Prague Airport is struggling with the problem of dishonest taxi drivers who approach travellers directly outside the terminals and offer them overpriced rides. This issue was highlighted by the well-known YouTubers Janek Rubeš and Honza Mikulka aka Honest Guides Prague, who first addressed the problem of taxi drivers in Prague ten years ago.
For some time now, there have been fake travelling assistants at Prague Airport who supposedly help passengers order taxis. In reality, however, they are soliciting customers away from Uber – the official provider of taxi services at Terminals 1 and 2.
These are clearly the most lucrative taxi ranks in the Czech Republic, which have always been fiercely contested. A tender for taxi operations was expected to bring improvements, which the digital company Uber won. However, the conditions familiar to passengers at other airports in Europe or overseas still do not exist in Prague. The trick Uber faces in losing customers is simple: travellers are offered seemingly official assistance that resembles support provided by representatives of the platform.
“You get off the plane and arrive in chaos, a place where various companies are vying for you as a passenger,” says Rubeš. According to him, what happens at Prague Airport is reminiscent of the wild 1990s. His video also showed aggressive scenes directly at the airport, where even the police had to intervene.
Not only is the whole situation often unpleasant for travellers – the biggest problem is that tourists are frequently charged double or triple the normal fare in this scam. On average, a journey from Prague Airport to the city centre should cost around CZK 650–750. In cases recorded by Janek and his partner Honza in their video, customers were charged twice as much – around CZK 1,200–1,500 per journey.
Following Rubeš’s revelations about dishonest taxi drivers, Prague Airport announced it would take stronger measures against ‘illegal advertisers’.
“We are fully aware that any form of unfair behaviour towards travellers is unacceptable. The report by Janek Rubeš highlights a practice that is neither in line with our values nor with the standard we want to offer our passengers. We are actively working on a solution and regret that despite previous measures, individuals continue to exploit the airport environment for misleading practices,” airport spokeswoman Denisa Hejtmánková told news portal Zdopravy.cz.
Prague Airport emphasises that it clearly rejects any form of ‘poaching’, unfairly influencing travellers, or pressure from unofficial providers. According to videos and comments on social media, the first step was to introduce an audio announcement to alert travellers to these unfair practices.
Hejtmánková told E15 magazine that the airport has already contacted the police regarding the situation in front of the terminals. “We are in contact with the Municipal Police (Městská policie) and the Police of the Czech Republic (Policie ČR) to ensure more intensive and regular cooperation in this area. The situation on the airport premises cannot be resolved by the operator alone – cooperation between all relevant authorities is required,” emphasises Hejtmánková.
“We are preparing further adjustments to the signage inside and around the terminals. The aim is to make it clear that the only official operator of the taxi service at the airport is Uber,” Hejtmánková adds.
