Le French modelwhich now bans short-haul air services where there is a viable alternative of less than 2.5 hours by train, is finding new emulators. Spain also wants to ban short-haul flights on domestic routes. Here too, on condition that there are an alternative train journey of less than 2.5 hours.
The proposal comes from Spain's ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) and the far-left Sumar party, which reached an agreement to form a new progressive coalition government last October. The measure, if adopted, aims to reduce emissions from high-speed domestic flights and encourage more sustainable travel, as part of Spain's 2050 climate action plan.
This ban could affect flights to and from cities such as Alicante, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia. Madrid.
According to environmental associations, more than a third of domestic flights could disappear from the Spanish capital. Only a handful of flights used to supply international and particularly intercontinental routes would be retained.
According to a study published last month by Ecologistas en Acción, eliminating short flights when there is a rail alternative of up to four hours would save up to 300,000 tonnes of CO2 and reduce the number of air operations by 50,000 per year. The impact would logically be less with a transfer to rail in the case of a journey of 2h30.
Is this ban likely to become a reality? ? It all depends on political game in the country and the possibility of outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez obtaining the majority he currently lacks in parliament. We will know more after November 27 about the possibility of a coalition. If not, the Spanish people will be called to the polls again in January 2024. With no guarantee of which party will come to power next.
The airline industry is already mobilising in response to this proposal. Starting with Iberia which argues that the frequency of trains serving major airports is still insufficient compared with domestic flights. Such a transfer to rail would mean a major development of airport stations. In order toavoid load breaks for the passengerThe only way to get to an airport is via a railway station. L'Barajas airport should, however, have its own high-speed train station in 2026.…
