In a bid to reduce carbon emissions, the French Government has decided to ban some domestic short-distance flights. A new law bans air travel between cities that need two and a half hours by train. This order came into effect on May 23 in select cities of the country. Another key criterion is that both cities must be connected via high-speed trains. And that the connection must be direct and affordable.
As of the time when the order came into effect, only a handful of cities faced this domestic short-distance flights ban. These include routes between Orly Airport in Paris and the cities of Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon. But the number is expected to increase in future as rail connectivity improves across the country.
Transportation Minister of France, Clement Beaune mentioned that this is a step taken towards “decarbonizing” the lifestyle. He said that there is no justification to use planes between two major cities when regular, fast and efficient train connectivity is already available.
This step was approved in 2021 as a part of a broader climate control bill. The bill in mention targets the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the country. The aviation sector contributes to about 2.5% of the emissions worldwide.
The original decision regarding the ban was to affect a total of eight routes. But the European Commission later gave the ruling that some of the routes were not ready for this step. The European Nation is currently developing its rail network. It is also undertaking expansion in the high-speed rail network of the country. May critics have mentioned this step to be just symbolic in nature, while others claim that this is the beginning of a new era in the transportation sector.
