France Prohibits Certain Short Domestic Flights to Reduce Emissions

The European Commission has officially endorsed France’s initiative to ban specific short-haul flight routes that could be covered by train in under 2.5 hours.

This ban seeks to decrease carbon emissions from aircraft in France and is part of the nation's broader goal to cut carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. This marks a historic moment as it is the first instance of a country implementing a law against flights for environmental protection.

The new legislation will impact three specific routes:

• Flights from Paris Orly to Bordeaux
• Flights from Paris Orly to Lyon
• Flights from Paris Orly to Nantes

The initial proposal, voted on in 2021, aimed to impact eight routes, but the European Commission decided to start with these three, as they have frequent daily connections in both directions.

Should rail services improve, three additional routes may be included in the future:

• Flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Lyon
• Flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Rennes
• Flights from Lyon to Marseilles

According to the European Commission, these routes lack early morning train options, which can cause issues for travelers. The other suggested routes, from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Bordeaux and Nantes, were dropped because the train ride exceeds 2.5 hours.

The Commission announced that this measure will be in effect for three years, with a review scheduled after two years.

It's challenging to determine the precise impact on France's carbon emissions. However, a report by the Guardian indicates that "due to the significant pollution generated during take-off and landing, the emissions per kilometer for each passenger on domestic routes are 70 percent higher than those of long-haul flights, and six times greater than if the journey were taken by train."

As part of its 2020 pandemic relief package, the French government provided Air France with over $7 billion, requiring the airline to take more action against the environmental impact of its operations—banning short flights was one of the conditions. (Air France was responsible for most flights on all three routes.) This measure was codified into law the following year, partly to prevent other airlines from taking over those routes, which would undermine Air France’s sustainability efforts.

Other European nations with similar initiatives

In recent years, other European countries have implemented similar initiatives, though none have outright banned short-haul flights. For instance, Austria replaced the flight route between Vienna and Salzburg with enhanced train services in 2020.

Additionally, Germany’s Aviation Association and Deutsche Bahn, the country’s primary rail operator, formed an agreement in 2021 to provide more high-speed train services, making train travel a more convenient option than flying. The collaboration aims to give about 20 percent of air travelers (approximately 4.3 million people annually) the choice to travel by train instead, potentially reducing carbon dioxide emissions from domestic air travel by one-sixth.

This article was first published in April 2022 and has since been updated with new details.