The relevant authorities in Spain have revealed that they are planning on placing a ban on short-haul flights.
Consequently, the authorities added that this will be done for distances that can easily be covered by trains if passengers take trips of less than two and a half hours.
This decision will follow the goal of the government to cut down on carbon emissions that are a result of the operations of the aviation sector.
The plan
As of now, the decision has been taken as part of a coalition pact, which was signed by Yolanda Diaz from Sumar, and Pedro Sanchez, who belongs to PSOE.
As per 20 Minutos, which reported the votes, the authorities will be analyzing the Directive issued by Europe to think about restricting private jet flights.
With this new suggestion, it is likely that kerosene will also be taxed, which is used as fuel in the aviation industry.
However, Spain is not the only country to be taking this measure. Back in December of 2022, France initiated the same.
Consequently, the country took to cutting down on the use of private jets for shorter trips.
The decision has remained and will continue to exist for the next three years. After that, the Commission will think about reassessing it and taking appropriate steps.
On this note, a study was carried out by Ecologistas en Accion in the previous year, which led to analyzing the impact of such a step.
It concluded that this measure would likely bring about a reduction of over 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year over the next couple of years.
The study went on to forecast that with the implementation of this measure, more than 21,000 annual flights would sustain impact, along with three million travelers.
The report
The report published as part of the study further revealed that short-haul flights, which have a daily frequency of at least four, can be replaced with train trips that last less than four hours.
These would include journeys between Barcelona and Valencia, Madrid and Malaga, Madrid and Pamplona, and several others.
On the other hand, flights that have less than four daily frequencies could also be replaced with rail journey of less than four hours.
These would encompass trains going to and from La Goruna and Madrid, Granada and Madrid, as well as Logrono and Madrid, to name a few.
Another study
Meanwhile, a study was conducted by Greenspace as well, which analyzed 14 routes which go to and from Spain.
The researchers concluded that train travel would cost around four times the price of flying.
Moreover, Greenspace went on to note that as of now, Spain ranks at number two after the UK with regards to a significant gap in prices between air and rail travel.
A report published by Iberia, a Spanish airline, also disclosed that domestic flights account for less than 1% of the overall CO2 emissions in the country.
Beatruz Guillen, the Global Sales Director of the company, took to speaking on the matter, saying that it would not be possible for millions of people to travel without domestic flights.
