France mulls short-haul flights ban

A high speed train passing a viaduct at Mediterranean Sea.

The French government is looking to ban short-haul domestic flights that would take less than two and a half hours via bus or train.

Lawmakers voted in favour of the ban in April 2021 and it is expected to come into effect this month.

The measure is part of the French government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions and was the result of a French citizens’ climate convention established by President Emmanuel Macron in response to the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement.

About 12 per cent of France’s domestic flights will be affected by the ban according to the Guardian, which also noted that carbon emissions for each passenger on a domestic flight is 70 per cent higher than long haul routes, which is six times higher than if the trip was taken via rail.

Flights from Paris to Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon are expected to be axed as a result of the ban.

Back in May 2020, the French government bailed out its national carrier, Air France, to the tune of €7 billion ($10.4 billion) after it was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic on the condition that it scraps some of its domestic flights.

The country’s Minister for the Economy at the time, Bruno Le Maire, told local radio Air France should become “the most environmentally respectful airline” and that the pandemic gave an opportunity to “reinvent our model of economic development to ensure it is more respectful of the environment”.

“It is obvious that today a number of domestic routes are no longer justified,” Le Maire said, according to the BBC.

“When you can travel by train in less than two and a half hours, there is no justification for taking a plane.”

Austria introduced the same clause in the bailout of its own national carrier, Austrian Airlines, as well as adding  €30 ($44) for each flight booked under 350 km, according to Forbes.


Image: iStock/Enzojz

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]