France’s decision to ban domestic flights, which could be replaced by train journeys of less than 2.5 hours, and open discussions in other European countries about imitating the measure for environmental reasons have sounded alarm bells in the Spanish air sector. IberiaThe company, which has the largest domestic flight network in the Spanish market, tries to protect all its domestic routes and argues that it is necessary to maintain them up to only 1.legacy of the train high speed To Madrid-Barajas airportbut until the railway bid to T4 is large and sufficient.
In Spain, a ban similar to that implemented in France would endanger the future of five airlines (those connecting Madrid with Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga and Seville), affecting around 33,000 flights and around 3.2 million passengers a year. will throw. Iberia, together with consulting firm PWC, has prepared a study on the million-dollar impact of eliminating just these five routes on aviation, tourism and the Spanish economy as a whole.
Elimination of these pathways means: Stop the contribution of 329 million euros GDP Spanish and would imply lay off nearly 6,000 peopleor in the aviation and tourism sectors, according to estimates gathered in a study last year with the contribution of five air connections. The airline and consultancy concludes that 102 million GDP and 1,850 full-time jobs are created for every million passengers traveling on a domestic flight in Spain.
Airline IAG – holding company that also brings together Vueling, British Airways, Aer Lingus and Level– underlines the importance of the domestic network to feed Madrid-Barajas as an important interconnection hub for international flights and to guarantee the connection of all Spanish territories with Europe and Latin America. About 40% of Barajas passengers are on connecting flights to or from other destinations.
Connect the train with Barajas
The government and rail infrastructure manager, Adif, is working on a project to bring high-speed trains to Madrid airport, with the initial goal to start service around 2026. Other major European air hubs such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt already have a wide range of connections between airports and national high-speed train networks.
Iberia has defended for years need to connect deck with high speed networkhowever, it warns that it is not enough just to have the intermodal connection working, instead it is enough to change the airlines in question, A bid of eight to ten trains per hour passing through Barajas will be needed.. A range of high-speed frequencies that cannot be reached beyond 2030.
In 2026, when the high-speed train is scheduled to arrive directly at Barajas (currently there is only one connection to the Cercanías network), and for the first few years thereafter, the offer will predictably be between one and two trains per hour. insufficient to meet all the capacity needed to completely replace the aircraft. Acknowledging that Spain has not seen real political pressure to eliminate short-haul airways, Iberia argues that these links must be maintained to ensure connectivity.
The former Spanish flag bearer claims that European funds for the Recovery Plan are “really” focused on supporting the aviation and tourism industry in two ways. On the one hand, making intermodality a reality and effectively connecting the rail network and airports; on the other hand, to encourage the development and consumption of sustainable fuels in aviation to replace existing polluting fossil fuels.
Train-plane competition
In the Spanish market the high-speed train did not stop grabbing passengers from the plane This transfer is now solidified with an increase in rail supply due to the arrival of new private operators Iryo or Ouigo competing with Renfe and its high-speed brands AVE and Avlo.
On the five affected routes, the high-speed train had a market share of 37% of passengers in 2007, reaching 77% in 2019, with an average of 64% cut in air frequencies. those that allow long distance connections.
“What is important now is to obtain the most efficient formula for passengers who want to go from one destination to another via Barajas. It’s not just about replacing the plane with the train, it’s about getting the train to do some things and the plane to do some things,” he stressed. Juan Cierco, corporate director of Iberia “If the train really does arrive in Barajas at eight frequencies per hour, we can use these planes for other destinations in Europe and improve connectivity across Spain,” he told the press.