Angry taxi drivers on hunger strike over changes to short-fare system at Melbourne Airport Taxi drivers protesting about changes to short-fare queue system at Melbourne Airport. FIVE taxi drivers angry over the axing of Melbourne Airport's short-fare system have gone on a hunger strike. Cabbie Nazar Yousif said he and four other cabbies started the radical protest about 10am today. Drivers have been protesting since Tuesday about changes to the short-fare system last month. They are angry the airport scrapped a queuing system that let them avoid the main queue on return to the airport after receiving a short-fare. Mr Yousif said drivers felt there was no one representing them. We are on a hunger strike. We are trying to get our message (across)," Mr Yousif, a taxi driver of 11 years from Ascot Vale, said. It is going to go forever because we feel humiliated and no one wants to come to speak to us. Melbourne Airport spokeswoman Anna Gillett said it was aware of the hunger strike. "Our focus is on running our airport and making sure our passengers can get where they can go as quickly as possible," Ms Gillett said. My understanding from media reports is the hunger strike will go until we reintroduce the short fare system. Ms Gillett said the protests had been undertaken by a minority of drivers. "The majority of taxi drivers wish to work and wish to provide a service to Melbourne airport passengers," she said. The airport said it scrapped the short-fare system because it was being rorted up to 200 times a day. More than 300 cabbies responded by protesting near the arrivals terminal, forcing police officers from the Critical Incident Response Team and federal officers to be called on.