France to Ban Domestic Flights Where an Alternative Train Ride Exists
The French Members of Parliament have voted to suspend short domestic flights if the trip can be completed by train within two and a half hours or less in order to reduce carbon emissions.
The measure is yet to be approved to enter into force fully, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The authorities informed that the following five routes will be proposed to be put out of use:
- Paris Orly to Bordeaux
- Paris Orly to Lyon
- Paris Orly to Nantes
- Paris Orly to Rennes
- Lyon to Marseille
Flights from Paris to Toulouse, which take four hours by train, and flights from Paris to Nice, which take around six hours by train, will continue operating. Moreover, connecting flights will not be affected by any of these changes, so international travellers do not have to worry about navigating the train system.
The President of France’s original recommendation was to ban all flights within French destinations if they can be substituted with an alternative train ride that takes less than four hours. However, the first recommendation was reduced to two and a half hours after Air France – KLM strongly objected to the decision after the hard hit it faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall travel restrictions.
“We know that aviation is a contributor of carbon dioxide and that because of climate change we must reduce emissions. Equally, we must support our companies and not let them fall by the wayside,” the French Minister of Interior Agnès Pannier-Runacher said, commenting on the Government’s recommendation to ban short-haul flights.
Whereas, the Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told the MPs that they had chosen the limit of two and a half hours because the limit of four hours risks isolating land-locked territories, which would be very damaging.
Yet, the Socialist MP Joël Aviragnet has insisted that the approval of this new measure would cause job losses in the aviation sector.
On the other hand, the French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir has requested the MPs to keep the four-hour recommendation and make sure that the French national rail will not raise the prices or degrade their customer service.
“On average, the plane emits 77 times more CO2 per passenger than the train on these routes, even though the train is cheaper and the time lost is limited to 40 minutes,” the French consumer association added.
The authorities said that more details about the airline routes that are to be suspended from carrying short domestic flights will be published in the official Government’s ordinance.
Previously, the European Commission approved France’s aid of up to €4 billion to recapitalise Air France after the difficulties the airline faced by the COVID-19 outbreak.
