Dubrovnik taxi drivers blocked one lane of the main road from the city to the airport today in protest at UBER. The blockade of the road started at around 9.30 this morning and caused massive tailbacks towards the city.

According to the latest information the road has been reopened after a brief incident in which four taxi drivers were attacked by what appears to be Uber drivers, although this is still yet to be confirmed. Ambulances are on the scene and the injured taxi drivers are believed to be on their way to Dubrovnik General Hospital.

The Dubrovnik taxi drivers had been protesting against UBER as they believe that the online service is illegal. The President of the Association of Dubrovnik taxi drivers, Bozo Miletic, commented that “I'm not the organizer of the protest. I came personally, stopped the vehicle and probably will get a misdemeanour fine. I will pay like everyone else. The organizer of this protest is just Uber and the unlawful way that they work, as well as the bad functioning of the legal state.” Around 170 taxis are believed to be involved in the protest.

As this road is the main road to the airport the protest caused many people to be late for their planes. There are reports that 30 passengers missed a flight to Rome this morning. The director of the airport, Roko Tolic, angrily reacted to the protest, “If such a situation persists, Dubrovnik Airport will make decisions that will regulate transportation more in the long run in this area." And the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Frankovic, was also just as scathing, “The City of Dubrovnik has so far been a partner with the taxi drivers from the City of Dubrovnik and we have repeatedly emphasized that we do not support the way in which Uber works and that their work is considered unlawful. However, the partnership that we have developed so far has been interrupted because our fellow citizens and guests of our City cannot get an adequate service through the taxis of the association.”