This Tuesday (23 May), France began banning shorthaul domestic flights, which can be replaced by train journeys of up to two and a half hours. The aim of the measure is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft.
The ban officially came into effect two years after lawmakers passed the climate bill, angering the airline industry and even drawing opposition from some airlines.
The change mainly affects travel between Paris and regional hubs such as Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux but connecting flights remain unchanged.
Air travel between the French capital and the Mediterranean port city of Marseille has been all but banned as highspeed trains take around three hours between the two locations.
Trains must meet demand
The law requires rail service on these routes to be frequent, punctual and wellconnected to meet the needs of passengers who would otherwise travel by plane and to accommodate the surge in passenger numbers.
Customers using these routes will be able to make a return train journey on the same day after spending eight hours at the destination.
The French government had already guaranteed Air France compliance with the measure in exchange for a financial support package for the Covid19 crisis in 2020. Competitors were not allowed to simply close the gap.
What the critics say
Critics dubbed the bans “token bans” that would have “minimal impact” on greenhouse gas emissions.
Instead, governments should support “real and meaningful solutions” to air emissions, Laurent Donceel, acting head of the EU’s largest aviation association, Airlines for Europe (A4E), told AFP.
A4E, which accounts for 70% of European air travel, highlighted its own netzero strategy by 2050, which includes switching from kerosene to products from nonfossil sources and using battery or hydrogenpowered aircraft.
Hydrogenpowered aircraft: when will we fly zero emissions?
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What the defenders say
On the other hand, there were those who pressured the French government to introduce even tougher measures.
The socalled Citizens’ Convention on France’s climate, launched in 2019 by President Emmanuel Macron and composed of 150 members of society, had proposed a ban on flights that could be traveled by train in less than four hours.
However, this deadline was reduced to two and a half hours after objections from some French regions and the airline Air FranceKLM.
Consumer rights group UFCQue Choisir also went so far as to urge lawmakers to keep the fourhour limit.
“On average, planes emit 77 times more CO2 per passenger than trains on these routes, even though trains are cheaper and the loss of time is limited to 40 minutes,” the group said.
But the UFC Que Choisir called for “safeguards to ensure that.” [ferrovia nacional francesa] SNCF does not seize the opportunity to artificially inflate its prices or to degrade the quality of rail transport.”
The shorthaul ban comes into effect as French politicians also discuss how to reduce emissions from private jets.
While Green MPs are calling for a total ban on small private flights, Transport Minister Clément Beaune has proposed a higher climate fee for users from next year.
ek/bl (AFP, ots)