A fresh blockade of Hong Kong International Airport has been averted after various stakeholders clinched a last-minute agreement to scrap a temporary pick-up point for call cabs.

Consensus was reached on July 19 after more than two hours of talks among police, representatives of the Transport Department of Hong Kong SAR Government, Airport Authority Hong Kong and nearly 30 taxi driver groups.

As part of the pact, a temporary call-a-cab pick-up and drop-off point at car park No. 4 will be scrapped from noon on July 22. Instead, call-a-cab and light-goods van drivers could use the designated parking area in car park No. 3 - as originally stated on July 14 - to pick up and drop off passengers and goods.

Other concessions made to the call-a-cab drivers include the building of temporary tents as shelter outside car park No. 3, and the erection of more signs to direct customers to the area.

Commissioner for Transport Alan Wong Chi-kong warned that the police will crack down on illegal activities like taxis offering discounted fares to lure passengers. "We believe the new arrangements will help police in law enforcement [in this regard]," he said.

But Wong maintained the key to tackling the problem was self-discipline by the industry.

The transport chief also expressed confidence there will not be another airport blockade. "I believe the industry is satisfied with the arrangements made, and the police have taken adequate measures [to prevent another blockade]. We can guarantee smooth access in and out of the airport," he said.

"We're not bowing to pressure from anybody," Wong said, pointing out that not all of the territory's 400,000 taxi drivers, some of whom work part-time, were fully aware of the changes despite more than a year of consultations before their implementation. "We believe what we've done is right."

Kwok Chi-biu, chairman of the Urban Taxi Drivers' Association, which organized July 14's blockade, accepted the outcome reluctantly, alleging the government was discriminating against call-a-cab drivers. "We accepted the agreement because we were outnumbered in the voting," he said.

Kwok said the group had wanted the temporary pick-up point to stay before all safety measures, including a permanent canopy outside car park No. 3, could be installed.

Lawmaker Miriam Lau Kin-yee, who represents the transport sector, also attended the meeting. She said the new arrangements had met with the interests of the industry. She hoped the new measures could help solve problems like taxis and light-goods vans offering illegal services to passengers.

About 100 drivers from the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association, who staged a sit-in protest at the airport on July 19, dispersed peacefully after learning that an agreement had been reached.

July 19's agreement followed a seven-hour blockade that ended in the wee hours on July 15 by 300 taxi drivers protesting against the introduction of newly designated pick-up and drop-off points, which they said were too far away from the main airport terminal.