The Metropolitan Airports Commission decided Tuesday to hold a public hearing Feb. 27 before it considers a proposal designed to curb such refusals, which drivers said are based on their religious beliefs.

MAC staff members propose suspending the licenses of drivers who refuse a fare for any reason besides personal safety. Their licenses could be suspended 30 days for the first offense and two years for the second.

Muslim drivers, who make up one-third of airport cabbies, say that the proposed punishment is designed to kick them out of the airport. Many said they quit other jobs that caused them to miss daily prayers, or to directly deal with alcohol or pork, both of which are prohibited in Islam.

“I left my meat-processing job because I was transferred to a hog butchery plant,

Airport staff want a public hearing on the new policy, which calls for a 30-day suspension of licenses upon the first offense and two years on the second offense.

It’s a stark departure from last year’s deal, which would have assigned distinct color codes to drivers who don’t carry alcohol. That plan turned a huge public relations disaster for MAC, which quickly scrapped it.

Most of the taxi drivers, who MAC says shun about 100 customers a month, are Muslims who cite religious prohibitions of alcohol.

Regardless of religion, airport spokesman Pat Hogan said customer service is the priority. And any driver who’s not willing to serve all customers will face consequences.

Abdisalam Hashim, manager of Bloomington taxi, who participated in negotiations with MAC, says that they will present their own plan when the full commission discusses the issue on Jan. 16.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed,

Citing a deluge response from customers all over the world, airport officials decided to negate the plan all together.

“The retribution would have caused [the plan] to fail,

“We hope this process becomes seamless for our customers and painless for drivers who don’t want to carry alcohol,