France got approval from the European Commission (EC) to begin clamping down on ultra-polluting short-haul flights inside the nation. Thus, a ban on three popular departures from Paris-Orly Airport has been approved.
During this period of skyrocketing inflation and energy cuts, the government also plans to limit the use of private aircraft to decrease CO2 emissions and maintain the social media reaction against the super-rich jet set.
Short-haul Flight Limitations
According to Electrek, the Union of French Airports and the European chapter of the Airports Council International strongly opposed the proposal to restrict short-haul commercial flights inside France, which was initially presented in 2021 and required the consent of the EC.
The EC accepted just three of the eight proposed flying routes, all of which had viable rail alternatives that could be reached in under 2.5 hours, with multiple direct train choices available at all times of the day. These include trips to and from Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon through Paris-Orly.
Three more routes - connecting Paris Charles de Gaulle with Lyon and Rennes and connecting Lyon and Marseille - could be added to the list in the future. However, they were not approved since passengers going to airports in Paris and Lyon currently do not have any convenient options for taking very early or very late trains.
Train travel takes slightly longer than 2.5 hours on high-speed trains. Thus, two alternative routes, from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Bordeaux and Nantes, were left out of the proposal.
The new prohibition will be in effect for three years before the EC reevaluates it.
"This is a major step forward and I am proud that France is a pioneer in this area," said Clément Beaune, France's minister of transport.
While environmentalists had hoped for a more comprehensive strategy, the atmosphere after Friday's vote was optimistic.
The French prohibition on short-haul flights when swift rail connections exist is a "baby step," but it is one in the right direction, according to Greenpeace's Thomas Gelin.
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Private Jet Limitations
To reduce emissions and respond to a rising backlash against the ultra-rich and their gas-guzzling puddle-jumping, the French government aims to drastically reduce the number of private jets permitted to fly inside the country.
Hence, it started with the most popular route from Paris to the French Riviera.
Beaune told Le Parisien in August, "There are some behaviors that are no longer acceptable."
This is justified by research from Transport and Environment, the European federation for clean transport.
The report revealed that private aircraft might be up to 14 times more polluting than commercial flights per passenger mile and up to 50 times more polluting than railways.
If flight-tracking data from ADS-B Exchange is to be believed, filmmaker Steven Spielberg's private plane went up over $116,000 in jet fuel in two months during the summer, generating almost 179 tons of CO2.
France, which has the most private jet flights in Europe, is unlikely to prohibit them. Nevertheless, it is expected to impose substantial taxes and limitations on their usage and push businesses to be more open about the purpose of their corporate aircraft.
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