Taxi drivers have refused to pick up passengers from Adelaide Airport as a stoush with Uber drivers over a new deal escalates.

The airport announced on Thursday it had reached an agreement with Uber to allow ride-sharing services to collect people from the terminal, ending a monopoly long held by the taxi industry.

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The deal has taken immediate effect, with signs outside the terminal directing people to a new Uber pick-up area next to the carpark.

But more than 100 taxi drivers have protested against the move, stopping work and causing widespread disruption and confusion for arriving passengers, many of whom were forced to make alternative transport arrangements.

The drivers are vowing to continue their protest throughout the day and block any Uber drivers who tried to pick up passengers.

"Six months ago, the Transport Minister promised there [would] be no Uber rank at the airport," taxi driver Surender Chahal said.

"Tomorrow not a single Uber will pass from here. We will not let anybody pass."

Mr Chahal said the taxi drivers were concerned some Uber drivers were working without the right accreditation.

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In a statement, Uber said it had "temporarily suspended pick-ups" from the airport due to safety concerns for drivers and passengers.

"We'll continue liaising with airport security and the AFP as they handle the situation," the company said.

The state's Taxi Council was earlier critical of the deal between the airport and Uber.

"Uber has a tendency to price surge and I think the public will be greatly disappointed if they book for a vehicle, only to find out they're paying three times the price of what it would have cost them to catch a taxi," president Jim Triantafyllou said.

The airport's managing director, Mark Young, said the deal did not mean taxis would be forced out.

"We have been a major funder of a number of industry initiatives and passenger initiatives with the taxi council of South Australia so our relationship is very good and I expect that to continue," he said.