Furthering the Steps towards Less Carbon Emissions: How Short-Haul Flight Bans are Impacting Travels in Europe

Over the last few decades, short-haul flights in Europe have become common due to the cheap, quick, and convenient offerings from regional airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair. However, this setup will start to change this year. 

In an effort to lessen the region’s carbon footprint, countries under the European Union have agreed to impose bans on short-haul flights, and this new legislation is set to take effect this spring. 

France led the Union towards this move and was the world’s first major economy to implement a nationwide ban on short-haul domestic flights. The alternative for these flights is a train route, which takes people on a journey of 2 and a half hours or less. 

When this legislation takes effect this March in the whole European Union, 12% of French domestic flights will be eliminated. These include routes from Paris to tourist destinations like Bordeaux, Lyon, and Nantes. 

In 2020, the French government locked national flag carrier Air France into adhering to the short-haul flight cutbacks as part of a condition to the airline’s EUR 7 billion (USD 7.9 billion) pandemic-related government bailout. The updated law in 2021 expanded that condition to apply to all airlines that have operations within the country. 

According to Anne-Laure Tuncer, French tourism agency’s spokesperson, 

“For now, not all French regional flights will be eliminated. Exceptions will be made for cities that provide connection to international flights.” 

It looks like banning short-haul flights will indeed be a significant and crucial move in Europe. 

Other European Countries that will Impose the Ban 

Aside from France, other lawmakers in the region have proposed similar bans, and countries such as Spain, Germany, and those in the Scandinavian peninsula are also considering such legislation. 

Below are a few more highlights regarding this topic: 

1. Austria already made similar steps. 

In mid-2020, Austrian Airlines halted its Vienna-Salzburg route and replaced it with an additional train service to receive money from the Austrian government.

2. 62% of those in Europe support a short-haul flight ban. 

With France opening the Pandora’s Box in Europe's air travel scene, it seems like this country, together with Austria, are just the beginning of the movement to make short-haul flights history. 

According to a survey conducted by the European Investment Bank (EIB), 62% of respondents support the EU-wide ban on short-haul flights. Additionally, talks about this subject have heated up over the last weeks in some European countries. 

3. Germany’s Greens’ Leader and Candidate for Chancellor also supports the short-haul flight ban. 

In May 2021, Annalena Baerbock, co-leader of the Greens in Germany and candidate for Chancellor in September 2021, brought the topic back to the political agenda. 

According to her interview with a German newspaper, the country must implement steps to make alternatives to short-haul flights attractive and measures to make short-haul flights unattractive. She thought about that in the context of adding taxes, reducing subventions on flights, and simultaneously improving the rail route offer. 

While initial bans are currently taking effect, more stringent flight restrictions could be on the horizon. 

Organizations like France’s Citizens’ Convention on Climate and consumer group UFC-Que Choisir advocate for broader bans in the country. These would eliminate domestic flights on routes with rail alternatives of under 4 hours. 

Meanwhile, global environmental group Greenpeace demands that the EU ban must be imposed on all short-haul flights with train alternatives of under 6 hours by October. As the group said, the ban will impact a third of the region’s busiest short flights and reduce Europe’s carbon emissions per year by 3.5 million tons. 

Not everyone is satisfied with the change. Some experts warn that while banning some short-haul flights can provide some short-term carbon-cutting benefits, it will not be enough to resolve the aviation industry’s bigger carbon emissions problem. 

According to Eurocontrol, flights shorter than 311 miles made up 31% of European flights in 2020. However, those contributed just 4% of the EU’s total emissions. In contrast, long-haul European flights over 2,485 miles contributed 6% of all flights and produced 52% of the EU’s total emissions. That’s over 12 times bigger than the total emissions produced by short-haul flights! 

In line with this information, Greenpeace’s EU Transport Expert Herwig Schuster said the ban on domestic short-haul flights is only a “very hesitant step in the right direction.” 

But France and other countries in the European Union remain unmoved in their decision to implement the ban this spring. 

To supplement the policy, the EU aims to double its high-speed rail traffic by 2030. Sleeker high-speed trains are set to be out in France in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the meantime, travelers who seek out domestic rail travel aren’t likely to get disappointed. 

Mark Smith, the founder of the train travel website The Man in Seat 61, said train travels are not just a mode of transportation but also an experience. For him, France’s trains offer conveniences that planes don’t, such as city center to city center transport, free Wi-Fi, no advance boarding requirements, and incredible scenery. People see more of France than from a plane through large picture windows. 

Similar Bans in the US 

Talks about similar legislation in the US are yet to materialize because train infrastructure in the country is less developed, and distances between big cities are longer out of the NorthEast corridor. However, sustainable travel consultant Rose O’Connor says that even without such law or ban, travelers in different parts of the world should consider traveling by trains rather than planes when feasible. 

While the intentions are good, we can't forget the law of unintended consequences. One likely outcome is that Air France would no longer be the airline of choice for people flying to Bordeaux, Biarritz, and other major, non-Paris French cities. Instead of flying to Paris and schlepping the bags through trains and train stations, it may be easier to connect in London, Frankfurt, or Zurich and fly directly to the final destination. Others may opt to drive since flying is no longer an option. 

Finally, in most European countries, government-controlled monopolies provide train services. What would that do to efficiency and ticket prices when travel between cities is monopolized in the hands of only one company?

While carbon footprint is undoubtedly a significant concern, this policy has to be sufficiently nuanced to be effective. Trains should start accepting check-in luggage and interline that luggage with other trains and flights. Airports need to be integrated with trains even more than they are today. Trains are more expensive than flights in many cases, so train pricing has to get smarter with yield management to entice more travelers. 

Banning short-haul flights must be accompanied by thoughtful improvements in the rest of the transportation infrastructure, or this policy may do more than harm than good.