AAirports

Ban on short flights in France causes loss of one million passengers

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The ban on short flights within France for which there is a train alternative of less than two and a half hours means the loss of nearly one million passengers annually, half on the route between Bordeaux and Paris Orly, according to the French Airports Union (UAF).

The general delegate of the UAF, Nicola Paulissen, explained to EFE on Wednesday that for Bordeaux airport this measure imposed by the French government on the grounds of reducing polluting emissions has meant the loss of 7-8% of its activity.

The ban, which has been in place since last year, affects three routes that in fact stopped operating with the Covid crisis in early 2020 and had not been reactivated since then: Bordeaux-Paris Orly, Lyon-Paris Orly and Nantes-Paris Orly.

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Air France had pledged not to resume them as one of the conditions of the state aid it received to overcome the coronavirus bump.

To avoid a major impact, and in particular to prevent the ban on these flights from leading to some passengers making connections at airports outside France for intercontinental flights, lines going to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport to connect to Air France’s long-haul routes have not been affected.

Paulissen complained that the Executive has not commissioned any “environmental or economic impact study” and insisted above all that this ban “is not the solution to polluting emissions”. He noted that the bulk of aviation growth will take place in emerging countries such as China and India and that is why “the challenge” is for airplanes to generate fewer greenhouse gases.

The general delegate of the UAF warned of the risk that some political parties may want to extend the ban to flights for which there is an alternative by train of up to four and a half hours. That would affect interconnecting lines at Charles de Gaulle with intercontinental routes from major French cities.

The ban imposed in France, which is being used as a reference in Spain, was accepted by the European Commission as temporary, with a validity period of three years.

Plataforma Informativa de Aviación Comercial líder en América Latina.

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