Airlines to Oppose France’s Short-Haul Flights Ban
Groups from the air transporting industry fear the ban could open the way for wider limitations across Europe on short-haul trips, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
These airlines, in addition to airports, are working on new strategies to counter the ban on three French short-haul flights, which will be effective for three years.
“We have the principle established by the EU of an open, liberalised market with the freedom to provide air services for any European airlines between any point within Europe. And that’s basically to support the freedom of movement, people and citizens across Europe,” one senior industry official said.
Furthermore, the freedom of movement argument is one of the most sensitive topics in European politics but can be tricky due to its complexity.
The ban has impacted fewer routes than expected and as the industry bodies claim, it is ineffective in reducing carbon emissions to bigger scales. Scara, a group representing regional French airlines has been intensely calling for the original ban to be toned down, saying it would use review periods to prove the ban doesn’t have a real impact on carbon emissions.
“We’ll embarrass people with the data. If we banned all flights of less than 500 km in Europe…it would be less than four per cent of the CO2 in Europe, right? I think there’s a perception that it would be 80 per cent. It’s not a solution,” Willie Walsh, head of a global trade association for the airline told Reuters.
The Union of French Airports plans to submit a complaint to France’s Council of State about the ban by the end of the month, and according to the Union, the routes that will be banned represent only 0.23 per cent of France’s emissions caused by air transport, 0.04 per cent of all transport sector emissions and 0.02 per cent of emissions recorded in the air transport sector.
On the other hand, environmental actors say the flight ban is too limited, as they wanted broader restrictions and are preparing to counter the industry’s efforts to remove the ban.
