France Curbs Short-Haul Flights In Hopes To Reduce Emissions

France is removing three different commercial flight paths from one of its Paris airports in an attempt to reduce CO2 emissions.
 
The radical move will mean that people trying to get into Paris-Orly from Bordeaux, Nantes, and Lyon will have to find other means of transportation as they can no longer book a quick flight. The plan ensured that citizens and travelers could get between cities in under two-and-a-half hours by train. 
 
France had originally come forward with the plan in 2021 but the Union of French Airports and the Airports Council International in Europe contested the idea, and the European Commission was brought in for an investigation. Eventually, the organization allowed for the movement to go ahead.
 
A total of eight routes had also been initially proposed. However, the European Commission only agreed to three as the other five did not have proper alternative means.
 
For example, a route from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Bordeaux and Nantes was removed from the plan as no trains could get between the destinations within two-and-a-half hours.
 
The ban will only last for three years before being reassessed by the European Commission.
 
The move is part of a larger goal of the European Union’s TEN-T project, which aims to make short-haul flights redundant throughout the EU between cities less than two and a half hours away by train.
 
According to Forbes, a statement by the EU claims that 17 of the 20 busiest airports in the union offer flights that cover less than 434 miles. These journeys could instead be taken by trains, which offer much cleaner solutions.
 
 
 
[via Electrek and Forbes, Photo 138210833 © Ninlawan Donlakkham | Dreamstime.com]