Lisbon airport brings in fixed taxi charges for two destination zones
Luggage is covered by the new fares, and drivers must accept electronic payments. The taxi federation says full implementation will follow in November.
A new pricing scheme at Lisbon airport sets taxi charges by destination zone and time of day, following complaints about overcharging and drivers declining journeys. The fixed fares have taken effect, although Carlos Silva, president of the Portuguese Taxi Federation, said implementation would not be complete until November.
- Zone 1: €16 for daytime travel, between 7:00 and 22:00; €20 overnight, between 22:00 and 7:00.
- Zone 2: €19 for daytime travel and €23 overnight.
The same rates apply at weekends and on public holidays. They cover luggage, ending the previous €1.60 charge for bags exceeding 55x35x20 centimetres. Meters will remain in use for destinations excluded from the scheme.
Silva said charges still needed to be agreed for places beyond the capital, citing Moscavide, Sacavém and Prior Velho. During the initial phase, the scheme applies to every taxi driver, whether or not they have obtained accreditation for the airport rank.
Lisbon City Council, airport operator ANA and tourism and taxi bodies signed the agreement in September. Alongside pricing, it bars drivers from refusing services and requires them to take vouchers and electronic payments, with working payment terminals. Signs explaining the fares had yet to be installed inside arrivals or outside.
Police checks at the airport in late August identified 67 taxi-related offences across around 100 vehicles, Lisbon Metropolitan Command said. Incorrectly positioned taximeters accounted for 32 of those offences.
