The Popular Group will present a motion this Friday at the plenary session of the Gran Canaria Cabildo to execute the TSJC ruling that annuls the restriction of 20 monthly trips for unlicensed taxis from Telde and Ingenio at Gando airport.
The Popular Party will bring to the plenary session of the Gran Canaria Cabildo this Friday a motion urging the island government to implement the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) that annuls the resolutions from 2021 and 2022 limiting the monthly trips that unlicensed taxis from Telde and Ingenio can make to Gando airport to pick up passengers, known as 'transfers'. This measure, managed through a telematic platform of the Transport Department of the Cabildo, has been affecting taxi drivers from 19 municipalities on the island for five years.
The motion, promoted by the Popular Group, recalls that before the COVID pandemic, there were no such restrictions in sensitive areas, such as the airport and the ports of La Luz and Las Nieves. According to the PP, the TSJC ruling dismantles the Cabildo's arguments for maintaining this restrictive measure, considering that limitations on business freedom cannot be based solely on economic reasons.
The TSJC ruling, which has been appealed to the Supreme Court, supports the Association for the Rights of Self-Employed Taxi Drivers of the Canary Islands (Asprotac) and dismisses the appeal filed by the Cabildo, the Town Hall of Telde, and the Regional Federation of Taxis of the Canary Islands (Fedetax) against the ruling of the Administrative Court number 4 from April 2025. Both rulings agree that the restriction is not justified as an appropriate administrative measure to ensure the proper management of transport, traffic, and public space in sensitive areas.
The key to the judicial decision is that, once the transport limitations arising from the pandemic were overcome, the Cabildo maintained the restriction on the use of 'transfers' at Gando for taxi drivers without municipal licenses from Telde and Ingenio, which constitutes an unjustified restriction of business freedom. The ruling also notes that it is not proven that this measure is consistent and systematic to achieve the objectives of good management.
The PP believes that the ruling should be executed immediately, as the limitation affects taxi drivers from most municipalities in Gran Canaria, who see their working opportunities at the airport reduced. The motion urges the island government to comply with the ruling and eliminate the limit of 20 monthly trips, as well as to restore the situation prior to 2021.
For its part, the Gran Canaria Cabildo, governed by a left-wing coalition, has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, so the execution could be delayed until the high court rules. However, the PP argues that while the appeal is being resolved, the TSJC ruling should be applied to avoid harming taxi drivers.
The Association for the Rights of Self-Employed Taxi Drivers of the Canary Islands (Asprotac) has celebrated the judicial decision and hopes that the Cabildo will comply with the ruling. The organization reminds that the limitation has caused significant economic harm to taxi professionals on the island, especially those operating in municipalities without licenses at the airport.
The debate over the regulation of 'transfers' at Gando airport is not new. For years, taxi drivers from Telde and Ingenio have defended the need to limit the entry of vehicles from other municipalities to guarantee their activity, while professionals from the rest of the island argue that the restriction is an obstacle to free competition. The TSJC ruling puts an end, at least provisionally, to this controversy, although the appeal to the Supreme Court maintains uncertainty.
The PP's motion will be debated this Friday at the plenary session of the Gran Canaria Cabildo, where an intense debate among political groups is expected. The island government will have to position itself on whether to comply with the ruling or wait for the Supreme Court's decision. In the meantime, taxi drivers from 19 municipalities continue to await the removal of a limit they consider unjust and that has reduced their income over the past five years.
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