Air travel to domestic destinations where it is possible to travel by train in less than two and a half hours is now prohibited in France.
The law was already voted through two years ago, but comes into effect from Tuesday. This means that it will no longer be possible to fly between places such as Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon. However, you will still be able to fly to Marseille from Paris, as that journey takes about three hours by high-speed train.
The requirement: Must be able to travel during the day
However, the rules do not apply to connecting flights and the requirement is that the train departures on the routes must run frequently and be able to take enough passengers to cover the increased number of passengers that will be added when it is no longer possible to fly.
One of the requirements is that passengers must be able to travel by train to a destination, stay there for eight hours, and then be able to travel back during the same day.
Air France received corona support in return
Already in 2020, the French airline Air France promised that they would accept the proposal, in exchange they received a financial support package during the corona pandemic.
Otherwise, the aviation industry is not satisfied with the new law. Laurent Donceel, director of the trade organization Airlines for Europe, tells AFP that the decision will only have minimal effects on emissions.
– The government should support real and significant solutions to emissions rather than symbolic bans, says Laurent Donceel.