France bans from today the regional flights when there is an alternative train with a duration of less than two and a half hoursafter the publication of the decree in the French newspaper this Tuesday, so it has immediate effect on the air links between Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon and Paris-Orly.

This measure, included within the Climate Law approved in August 2021, seeks fight climate change and reduce carbon emissions from this type of scheduled air transport service. The decree, which is applied by a three year periodpoints out that train journeys must have “sufficient frequencies and adequate schedules”, while the connection must allow the passenger to spend more than eight hours at the destination during the day.

In addition, the route of the rail service must be carried out between stations that serve the same cities as the respective airports in question. “However, when the most important of these two airports, taking into account the average traffic registered in the last seven years, is directly served by a high-speed rail service, the station that will be taken into account for the application of the provisions of the This section will be the one that serves this airport,” the decree explains.

In this regard, the French Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, has celebrated that this measure is an essential step and a strong symbol in the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “It is a world first and is fully in line with the Government’s policy of promoting the use of modes of transport that emit fewer greenhouse gases,” he stressed in a statement.

However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), through its general director, Willie Walsh, described the measure as “completely absurd” and that “it is useless.” In this sense, Walsh explained that if They will eliminate all routes of less than 500 kilometers in Europe, 24% of flights would be suppressed, but, on the other hand, the CO2 emissions would fall by only 3.84%citing a Eurocontrol report.

In addition, one of the airline employers, A4E, lamented that “prohibiting these trips will only have minimal effects” on CO2 emissions. She also stated that governments should support “real and meaningful solutions” to the problem.