Taxi drivers park at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City as they wait to pick up passengers. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HCM CITY — Taxis picking up passengers at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City will pay an entry fee of VNĐ5,000-15,000 per trip from April instead of monthly rentals, which could lead to a rise in taxi fares.

TCP Việt Nam Investment JSC, which operates the parking lot in the airport, has informed taxi companies operating there about the change.

Taxi drivers entering the airport parking lot through lanes C and D have to respectively pay VNĐ5,000 and VNĐ15,000 on top of the VNĐ10,000 entry fee at the gate.

Lane D is closest to the terminal.

TCP claimed the new fee is meant to manage traffic, but the Taxi Association has objected to it, warning it could drive up fares to the public’s detriment.

A spokesperson for VinaSun Taxi said the company currently pays VNĐ12 million for (US$507) renting seven parking slots a month.

"VinaSun taxis enter the airport 2,000 times a day on average and if the company has to pay the new fee, it will have to pay VNĐ300-900 million a month."

Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport is the country’s busiest, receiving 60,000-70,000 passengers a day. — VNS