Starting this week, France will prohibit regional flights whenever a train option can reasonably replace the trip for long-distance routes. This rule, effective immediately after being published in the official journal, targets air links between cities such as Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Paris Orly where rail alternatives offer comparable travel times.
The measure, part of the Climate Law approved in August 2021, aims to curb climate change by lowering carbon emissions from routine air transport linked to these shorter routes.
The decree, valid for three years, requires that train journeys provide sufficient frequency and duration so that travelers can spend more than eight hours at their destination. It also mandates that the rail connection be integrated with the airport route, favoring direct rail access to the city’s major airports.
When one airport offers markedly higher traffic and is served by high-speed rail, the rail station used for applying these provisions will be the one serving that busiest airport.
French Transport Minister Clement Beaune hailed the policy as a meaningful milestone and a strong signal in the push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“It is a first of its kind and fully aligned with the government’s goal to promote modes of transport that emit less carbon,” he commented.
Nevertheless, the International Air Transport Association, led by chief executive Willie Walsh, criticized the measure as “totally ridiculous” and “useless.”
Walsh noted that eliminating all European routes under 500 kilometers would remove about 24 percent of flights, yet CO2 reductions would amount to just 3.84 percent according to a Eurocontrol study.
Airline industry groups such as A4E argue that banning these trips would have little impact on emissions. They also urged governments to back real and meaningful solutions to the climate challenge instead of outright flight bans.