27 October 2021
Environmental group Greenpeace has called on the European Union to ban short flights on routes where a train journey under six hours is available.
This is a further sign of growing pressure on governments to take bolder steps to avert climate disaster.
According to recent research, more than a third of the 150 busiest short-haul routes within the EU have a viable rail alternative with journey times that meet the test, including popular hops like Paris-Amsterdam, Madrid-Barcelona and Munich-Berlin.
Greenpeace is also lobbying for an end to policies that lower the price of airline tickets, such as kerosene and value-added tax exemptions, to help put rail travel on an equal price footing.
