Domestic flights in France for trips possible in less than two-and-a-half hours by high speed train are being banned, the Paris government has confirmed.
Journeys between Paris Orly airport and regional points such as Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux will be ruled out, with connecting flights unaffected.
The final number falls short of the eight routes French MPs had proposed to cut but more could be included if rail services improve.
Under a government decree published on Tuesday, train services on the same route must be frequent, timely and well-connected enough to meet the needs of passengers who would otherwise travel by air – and able to absorb the increase in passenger numbers.
Passengers making such trips should be able to make outbound and return train journeys on the same day, having spent eight hours at their destination.
Although the move was included in a 2021 climate law and already applied in practice, some airlines had asked the European Commission to investigate whether it was legal.
However, Brussels gave the green light in December provided routes can be completed by train in less than two and a half hours.
The French government had already secured Air France’s compliance with the plan in exchange for a 2020 Covid financial support package. Competitors were banned from filling the gap.
But critics pointed out that the cutoff point is shy of the roughly three hours it takes to travel from Paris to Marseille by high-speed rail.
Laurent Donceel, interim head of industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E), told the AFP news agency that “banning these trips will only have minimal effects” on CO2 output.
He added that governments should instead support “real and significant solutions” to the issue rather than “symbolic bans”.
The measures are part of a climate law introduced two years ago in a bid to cut the country’s carbon emissions.
French politicians have also been debating how to reduce emissions from private jets.