Somali Taxi Drivers Not Allowed to Pray Near Work Place - Airport

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport officials will meet Monday with Muslim taxi drivers to try to resolve an issue over a mandate the cabbies say bans them from praying as they wait to pick up passengers.


Cleveland Hopkins International Airport officials, Muslim cabbies to discuss prayer concerns, Stan Donaldson, Plain Dealer Reporter

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport officials will meet Monday with Muslim taxi drivers to try to resolve an issue over a mandate the cabbies say bans them from praying as they wait to pick up passengers.

The call for a meeting came a day after a religious advocacy group - the Cleveland Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations - issued a news release that said it wanted to meet with Mayor Frank Jackson. The group wants to discuss an order a city-contracted group sent to taxi owners that banned drivers from praying in the taxi queue.

The council acted on behalf of 60 Somali cab drivers who work at the airport and who are Muslim.

Airport spokeswoman Jackie Mayo said the memo misstated the issue and said prayer is not banned. But she added that rules are in place to ensure safety at the airport.

Mayo said Transportation Security Administration regulations require that drivers can't leave their cars when they're within 300 feet of the airport or impede traffic flow. She said airport Director Ricky Smith would meet with the drivers "to find a way to bridge a gap and work within the confines of federal rules."

In an e-mailed statement, Smith said the rules have been in place since the Sept. 11 attacks and are to ensure safety for people who work and travel at the facility, including taxi drivers.