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Cab Controversy Swirls at Minneapolis Airport

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 18, 2006

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Catching a cab at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport is more easily said than done.

More than half the drivers are Somali Muslims, many of whom refuse rides to anyone carrying alcohol.

Some passengers have reported multiple rejections from cab drivers before finding someone willing to take them.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission, seeking a solution that would satisfy both drivers and passengers, considered allowing cabbies to post special rooftop lights denoting their stance on the alcohol issue. A public backlash -- several hundred calls and e-mailed messages -- killed the idea, however.

Drivers who refuse service to potential passengers are currently required to return to the back of the taxi line, creating an obvious economic hardship.

Determining who carries alcohol is not always easy, especially if it's packed in luggage. But packages purchased from duty-free shops at the airport, or acquired during visits to wineries not far from the airport, are obvious. So is an alcoholic smell on the breath.

Islamic law forbids alcohol consumption but says nothing about transporting it. The issue is controversial, since some Muslims also sell such prohibited products as pork without consuming it themselves.

Although the Free Muslims Coalition sees no conflict of interest, the local chapter of the Muslim American Society disagrees. Created to promote Islamic ideas and influence, it says the indecision by the airport authority -- after two years of discussion -- will hurt both drivers and passengers.

In the meantime, the debate continues.

Some drivers have asked dispatchers to weed out passengers coming from liquor stores or bars, while others say that freedom of religion, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, allows them to practice their religion in any way they see fit.

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