France Halts Some Short Domestic Flights — Why And What Are Your Travel Alternatives

France’s long-contested and much-debated ban on so-called “short-haul” domestic flights is now official.

The country’s lawmakers had approved a bill earlier this year that would end domestic flights for routes where the same trip may be completed by train or bus in less than 2.5 hours as part of a larger climate bill intended to reduce carbon emissions in France by 40 percent before 2030. However, that ban on short-haul flights, which required approval by the European Commission, has been opposed by several groups, including the Union of French Airports and the European branch of the Airports Council International, according to Euronews.

Last week, the European Commission approved the measure prohibiting some — but not all — flights between cities when the same trip may be completed by train in 2.5 hours or less.

Importantly, the ban on short-haul flights in France will only be in place for three years. After that, it will be subject to reassessment by the European Commission.

“This is a major step forward in the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Clément Beaune, France’s transport minister, said, according to Euronews. “I am proud that France is a pioneer in this area.”

What This Means For Short-Haul Routes

It’s important to note that France’s ban does not apply to all short-haul routes. For instance, flights from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris aren’t affected, and neither are flights from small French airports that connect to an international flight, such as Lyon to London with a layover in Paris.

What’s more, while the original French bill called for a prohibition on short-haul flights for eight routes, the European Commission explained that the ban can only be put into place if genuine rail alternatives are available every day for the route. That also means there must be several direct connections each way every day.

Consequently, only trips between Paris-Orly and Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon will be banned.

However, it must be noted that three more short-haul routes could eventually be prohibited.

Those routes, between Paris Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, and Rennes, and between Lyon and Marseille, could only be prohibited if rail service along the routes is expanded to include early morning and evening service.

Guarded Reactions

While news of the European Commission’s approval of the ban on some short-haul flights in France was met with approval from people advocating for a cleaner environment, there also was criticism that the ban doesn’t include more routes.

For instance, on the one hand, French politician and member of the European Parliament Karima Delli called the announcement a “victory,” but she also noted that the legislation should have also covered other flights.

“The European Commission gives the green light to the French ban on domestic flights if there is an alternative of less than 2 hours and 30 minutes by train,” Delli wrote on Twitter. “This is going in the right direction, but we must raise the threshold to 4 hours. Above all: integrate private jets into this ban!”

Sarah Fayolle, Greenpeace France transport campaign manager, added that there are both “negative and positive aspects” to the European Commission’s decision since only three routes are affected.

“It’s going in the right direction, but the initial measure is one that’s (not very) ambitious,” Fayolle said, according to Euronews. “We must go even further.”