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Join Date: May 2007
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Airport must allow shuttles
Airport must allow shuttles http://www.amigoe.com/english/
Representatives of the demanding car rental companies together at the Court of First Instance in May of this year.
ORANJESTAD – The judge decided in favour of the 12 car rental companies that in a lawsuit against Aruba Airport Authority (AAA) demanded that shuttle transportation is allowed on the roads around the airport.
The car rental companies took AAA to court because the airport company has indicated not to allow shuttle transportation for the pick up or drop off of tourists that have rented a car from the companies that are not established on the premises of the airport. Ace Jeep & Car Rental, Alamo , Midway Cars, Deals on Wheels, Econo, Explore, Family Car Rental, HB Rent-a-Car, MG Aruba Friendly Tours, National, Ruba, and Trac were all against AAA.
The judge went into the question whether the roads on the airport site can be considered as public roads or whether AAA may make demands on who is allowed to use the roads. The fact that with the privatization of the Airport service, AAA was granted long-lease of the land and maintains the roads, doesn’t mean that the roads are private. In line with the definition in the Netherlands , a road is public when everybody is allowed to use it, which is the case at the airport.
But even if the roads would be private, the airport may not obstruct shuttle transportation. The car rental companies have convinced the judge that, if they are denied transportation of tourists from and to the airport, economically, they will be seriously harmed.
“AAA does not only regulate the use of her own site, but also Aruba ’s market operation in the car rental branch in general.” The consequences of a ban will be so radical then, that the judge decided to stop it.
On penalty of a fine of 5000 florins imposed on a daily basis or part of a day, with a maximum of 100.000 florins per individual car rental company, AAA has to allow shuttle transportation. AAA may also not prohibit persons to await customers in- or outside the arrival terminal of the airport building that have reserved a car with the company in question.
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