The French government has banned domestic flights to places where there is no alternative to rail and hopes other European countries will follow suit.
The measure against climate change aims for domestic travel of less than two and a half hours by train, the transport minister said.
“I hope that other European countries will follow this measure,” transport minister Clement Bon said in an interview with France Info this Thursday.
The Minister, emphasizing that France is “the only country in Europe” that has implemented this measure, did not rule out that two and a half hours could turn into three hours.
In this sense, Bon specified that it is planned to build a high-speed line between Bordeaux and Toulouse, which will make it possible to lay the entire Paris-Toulouse corridor at high speed.
A ban on domestic flights with a rail alternative of less than two and a half hours has been sanctioned by the European Commission.
Given the many exceptions, in practice this measure only resulted in the suspension of three flights between Paris Orly airport and the cities of Bordeaux, Lyon and Nantes, which Air France (the company that operated these flights) had already stopped. running early 2020 due to covid-19 pandemic.
Air France has promised not to renew these calls, provided it receives government assistance to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
The ban does not prevent connections between Lyon and Bordeaux with Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, as they connect with other flights on Air France’s international network.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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