Airport Transport Drivers Sweep Grab Riders, Confiscate Motorcycle Keys at Komodo International Airport

Several drivers from the Land Transport Vehicle Association (Awstar) in Labuan Bajo conducted a sweep against Grab motorcycle taxi drivers who were picking up passengers in front of Komodo International Airport in Labuan Bajo, Manggarai Barat, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Friday 27 February 2026.

The sweep action took place specifically on the road in front of the airport exit gate. Awstar drivers even confiscated the motorcycle keys from the Grab drivers.

Awstar is a land transport service that operates daily at Komodo International Airport. The drivers come from several land transport companies that have established cooperation agreements with Komodo International Airport authorities.

The dispute between Awstar drivers and Grab drivers was then mediated at Manggarai Barat Police Station, but no resolution was reached.

“The problem was that when an order came from airport passengers, one of our friends who was picked up was held and their keys were taken. That’s what made the Grab bike driver friends feel uncomfortable,” said Grab Labuan Bajo Administrator Largus Wadu following mediation at Manggarai Barat Police Station on Friday afternoon.

“There was a debate there, and some reported to the police, so the chief went there and directed us to discuss this together at our office,” Wadu added.

He said that several days earlier the Awstar chairman had called him requesting that Grab drivers not wait in front of Komodo Airport. Wadu said he had already conveyed the request to the Grab drivers.

“Perhaps due to limited communication methods, some drivers still wait there, outside, in front of the road. That shouldn’t be a problem for our partners to wait anywhere—we don’t have a problem with that,” he stated firmly.

However, it became a problem, he said, when Awstar drivers detained and took the motorcycle keys from Grab drivers who were picking up passengers in front of Komodo Airport.

Wadu said Grab drivers objected to Awstar’s request regarding the distance radius from the airport at which Grab drivers were permitted to pick up passengers. This would make it difficult for passengers to access Grab bike services.

“Everyone objected to the radius issue. From Grab and from the drivers, we actually object if we have to ask passengers to walk first to get our service—that’s not fair. They would directly want to shut down our application,” Wadu stated firmly.

He said he was unaware of any previous agreement with Awstar regarding the radius for picking up passengers in front of Komodo Airport. “But if there was a previous agreement regarding the radius, that’s something we also need to investigate. Up to now, I haven’t received a copy of it either,” he said.

For now, his team accepted Awstar’s request not to wait in front of the airport until there is further agreement with Awstar. “For now, we won’t wait—we accept this because we also have no interest there. For pickups, we’ve arranged for them not to be in front of the airport and shifted slightly to avoid unwanted incidents during this period when we don’t yet have an agreement,” he explained.

Awstar Labuan Bajo General Chairman Heribertus Bantuk had previously reached an agreement with Grab drivers not to pick up passengers directly at the exit door of Komodo Airport. The reason was to avoid disrupting traffic flow. His side was concerned because Grab drivers have continued to pick up passengers and wait in front of the airport.

“Our reason was that we had an agreement that Grab bike itself should not pick up passengers at Komodo Airport Labuan Bajo. We didn’t explain regarding the radius yesterday. As time goes on, we see Grab bike friends waiting right at the airport exit door, which we feel is disruptive,” said Heribertus following mediation.

He said there was no agreement with Grab regarding the radius for picking up passengers at Komodo Airport.

“Regarding the radius, we haven’t reached agreement, but we requested that at the airport exit door, Grab bike friends should not wait or pick up passengers on the roadway,” Heribertus stated firmly.

The dispute between Awstar drivers and Grab drivers was mediated by Head of Law Enforcement Unit (Kanit Gakkum) Satlantas Manggarai Barat Police Ipda Bayu Wicahya Soekarno. Several temporary agreements were reached as conveyed by Wadu and Heribertus.

“For the agreement reached so far, our Grab friends will not pick up passengers in front of the airport exit door. Second, they should not wait at the three-way junction (in front of the airport exit) and park vehicles on the pavement,” said Bayu.

“For now, our Grab friends can only pick up passengers in safer areas, which basically cannot be on the road,” he added.

Bayu said both parties still need to meet to reach a final agreement. “Moving forward, there is a plan to meet again after the Awstar management and Grab have met together to reach a new agreement and come to Manggarai Barat Police Station to formalise the agreement,” he concluded.