Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) spokeswoman Deidre Davids confirmed on Friday that an attempt to block access to Cape Town International Airport had taken place earlier during a reported clash between meter taxi drivers and Uber drivers.
The attempt, however, was unsuccessful she said.
“This did not impact on the airport’s operations in any way. The police and traffic authorities responded quickly.”
GroundUp reported earlier that Uber drivers were forced to go offline because they feared that their vehicles would be torched during the alleged violent attack on Friday morning. Meter taxi drivers reportedly closed the road leading to Cape Town International Airport and allegedly forced passengers out of an Uber vehicle.
In an attempt to resolve the conflict, police reportedly negotiated with both the meter taxi and Uber drivers.
Uber drivers were then advised to leave the airport.
Uber spokeswoman Samantha Allenberg said there were isolated instances of intimidation at the airport that were reported on Friday morning.
“On being notified, we immediately reached out to relevant stakeholders to help resolve the situation. We spoke to the rider and driver-partners and we were relieved to hear that nobody was hurt.”
Allenberg said after the incident, drivers in the area were operating as normal.
“Uber is a safe, reliable, convenient and affordable way to get to and from A to B. Our technology makes it possible to focus on safety for riders and drivers before, during and after every trip in ways that have never been possible before,” she said.
She said earlier that drivers have a security number they can use should they feel unsafe at any time.”
Davids said the airport would continue to work with the police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of the public.
Western Cape police spokeswoman Noloyiso Rwexana said the police were not aware of any violence that took place.