By Melissa Nightingale of 
Wellington Airport (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
- Wellington Airport has suspended five taxi drivers from using the taxi rank after they used the parents' room to heat their dinners
- The airport contacted the taxi companies two months ago to warn against drivers using the parents' room, but this was not passed on to all taxi staff
- Airport management say it's a privacy and hygiene issue, while taxi drivers say they have nowhere to heat food during 10-hour shifts
A Wellington taxi driver says the next month will be "hard to survive" after he and others were suspended from the airport taxi rank because they were using the parents' room to heat up their dinners.
An airport spokesman said it was a privacy and hygiene issue, while affected drivers have said they only used the room after 10pm when there were no passengers in the airport.
Five drivers from several different taxi companies have had their licences suspended for four weeks, Wellington Airport head of transport Cameron Jackson said.
"We had warned the taxi companies a couple of months ago that the parents' and caregivers' room was not to be used for privacy and hygiene reasons. Some drivers continued to use the room which is why the suspensions were enforced," he said.
"Our concern is to ensure parents feel safe and comfortable using this room which is for the dedicated use of families. The vast majority of drivers respect this.
"We provide taxi drivers with designated toilets and a taxi shop for use, alongside the other retail outlets in the terminal."
The taxi shop is a small cafe where drivers can purchase food and drinks.
The parents' room is found in the main terminal of the airport. It contains cubicles with breastfeeding chairs and privacy curtains, a playpen, changing areas, a bathroom, and a microwave.
One of the banned taxi drivers said it was difficult for drivers who were spending long shifts at the airport and had no way to heat up their meals.
Dharmvir Malhotra said the company he works for forwarded him an email from the airport about two months ago warning drivers not to use the parents' room but said not all the taxi companies forwarded this email to their drivers.
He said he and a friend used the parents' room again on August 22 and were told off "rudely" by a cleaner. When they sought clarification from two airport staff members, they were told it was fine to use the microwave as long as they cleaned up after, he said.
Malhotra explained they only used the parents; room between 10-11pm when the final domestic flights had all left, and no international flights were due to arrive until 11.30pm. They never used the parents' room when there were people there, and always cleaned up after themselves, he said.
"There has to be a microwave for us to use because we work all day over there, we work every day about 10 hours. This facility has to be there. They are charging us a lot of money to park our cars in the rank."
They would also use the parents; room toilet because at that time of night, the other toilets in the airport were closed for cleaning, he said.
On 27 August, Malhotra received an email from the airport saying they were aware he had used the parents' room after being warned not to, asking for his response.
"After a few days I replied to that email. I apologised, I said 'Yeah, I used it, I will keep in my mind for the next time'."
He then received a response stating he would receive a four-week suspension from the taxi rank.
"You can't just take someone's work for four weeks just for using the microwave," he said.
While he can still take work elsewhere in the city, Malhotra said there was very little work available, and no proper taxi ranks in the city. He estimated his income will be decreased by about 50-60 percent.
"It's going to be hard to survive," he said.
Another anonymous person contacted the Herald about the ban, saying the drivers they had spoken to were unaware they were breaching any rules and had received no warnings by either airport management or their taxi companies.
"These drivers have expressed that they feel the punishment is excessively harsh, particularly since they were not informed that using the microwave was an infringement," the person said.
"Despite their attempts to explain the situation, the airport transport team has refused to listen to their concerns. They feel unjustly punished for a rule they were unaware of.
"I believe this situation deserves attention as it impacts the livelihoods of many hardworking drivers."
- This story was first published by The New Zealand Herald
