Taxi drivers angry about a fare increase for picking up passengers at the Ottawa airport are continuing a protest Wednesday morning.

The non-stop honking of taxis filled the air for hours Tuesday as labour strife involving the city’s biggest cab company touched down at the airport. Taxi drivers began circling the passenger and making themselves heard early in the morning, clogging traffic in the process.(NEWS BLOG: Scroll to the bottom of today's story for our news blog with real-time updates on the situation from the airport)

The drivers of the airport taxi fleet and theagency to whom they contract their dispatch and other services, Coventry Connections Inc., are butting heads over an agreement reached between the company and the airport. The deal would increase the airport pickup fee for drivers to an estimated $4.50 plus tax, from the current roughly $2 fee per ride.

Drivers say the increase will hurt their business and their bottom line.

The airport issued a release to passengers to expect delays getting into, and out of, the terminal as long as the protests continue.

On Monday, the airport taxi drivers said, they were given notification the company intended to lock them out of the airport’s taxi pickup area. The company shut off the dispatch radios around 10:40 a.m., drivers said.

That’s when drivers rushed out of the parking lot in frustration to circle the airport outside of their normal passenger pickup area.

“They want more money and we just don’t have anymore money to give to anybody,” said Ottawa taxi union president Amrik Singh.

Singh said adding increased fees to each ride would force the drivers to either charge more to the passengers or pay out of their own pocket. The choice, he said, would be between making less money or losing potential customers due to higher prices.

Drivers with Blue Line and Capital Taxis had been authorized by the company to head to the airport and pick up travellers. But they refused, in a gesture of solidarity, and all cab services at the airport came to a halt.

Farid Haddad, who has been driving a cab for 20 years, was there to support his colleagues even though he does not drive an airport taxi. Haddad said increase to the airport taxis will affect the downtown drivers as well, since people would use other methods for arriving at the airport, such as a drop-off by another family member in order to save money.

Coventry Connections spokesman Daniel Coates said there are drivers who wish to pay their increased fees to continue working without interruptions.

The proposed airport fee would bring the fee up to the regular market rate, since the drivers have been paying a “very low fee for taxi work” at the Ottawa International Airport for more than a decade, Coates said.

He added Coventry worked with the airport authority to arrange commuter buses and other services to help the passengers during the labour dispute.

IF YOU CANNOT VIEW the Ottawa airport taxi protest news blog, click this link.

Twitter: @juliennebay