Spain’s plan to ban short-haul domestic flights to reduce carbon emissions criticised as ‘ineffective’
Spain’s coalition government has proposed banning some short-haul domestic flights as part of its plan to reduce carbon emissions. The country has been considering a ban since 2021 in an effort to support the objectives of its 2050 climate action plan.
In the latest development, flights having a rail alternative that takes less than two and a half hours will no longer be allowed to take off, “except in cases of connection with hub airports that link with international routes,” according to Euro News.
It is not yet known how many flights are going to be impacted by the proposed ban, but the development is expected to trigger protests from some internal airlines that make money flying between cities in Spain – a significant tourism destination on the planet.
Initial proposal considered rail alternatives of under four hours
Through the move, Spain is following the lead of France. In May 2023, the French government officially imposed a ban on domestic flights for journeys that can be made in less than two and a half hours by train to make transport greener and fairer for its population.
In Spain, the text agreed by the two political parties – PSOE and Sumar – also seeks to analyse the potential impact of restricting private jet use and a European Union directive on taxing energy products including kerosene – used as aviation fuel.
The initial draft proposal included banning short-haul flights having rail alternatives of less than four hours. It could have saved up to 300,000 tonnes of CO2 and 50,000 flights annually, as per a study released last year by Ecologistas en Acción.
Banning short-haul flights could make Spain “less competitive”
The coalition of environmental groups said 11 air routes could be replaced by train journeys taking under four hours, slashing the country’s emissions by nearly 10%. But the draft proposal eventually had to be reduced to the current duration.
In terms of criticism, opposition parties PP and Vox are against the prohibition with the latter raising concerns over the proposal making Spain “less competitive”. PP member Guiller Mariscal even criticised the ban as “ineffective”.
The ban would only result in a 0.06% reduction in emissions, according to data of the College of Aircraft Engineers (COIAE). The proposal is set to go through several more stages of amendments before it can be approved by the Senate and finally become a regulation.
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