Could Ultra-Cheap Flights in Europe Be a Thing of the Past?

12.09.2023 - 13:27 / cntraveler.com / Clément Beaune

Ultra-cheap flights could be banned in Europe if a forthcoming proposal is approved by the EU: Officials in France want to set a price minimum on airfares across Europe to help reduce carbon emissions.

France’s transport minister, Clément Beaune, said in late August that he plans to propose a ban on ultra-cheap flights across Europe in an attempt to lessen the impact of commercial aviation on the environment. “Plane tickets at 10 euros, at a time of ecological transition, this is no longer possible,” Beaune said, according to French newspaper Le Figaro (and translated by Google). “This does not reflect the price for the planet.”

The proposal hasn’t yet been submitted for review by other EU countries, but it should be unveiled in the coming days.

So far, the idea has been met with mixed reviews. Critics say the concept as it is currently outlined would do nothing to deter the most frequent fliers, who are responsible for the majority of Europe’s aviation emissions. In France, for example, half of all flights are taken by just two percent of the population, according to a 2021 study from climate action group Possible.

“We should be dealing with frequent fliers and this does not deal with them,” Jon Worth, founder of train travel advocacy group Trains for Europe, told EuroNews. “It might reduce nice city weekends for some people, but it's not going to stop or reduce this regular flying elite."

Some critics are pushing for an alternative plan that would tax travelers at increasing rates, based on how many flights they take in a year. Such a scheme has been promoted by activists in the UK for several years.

Recently, France has been pushing to limit carbon output from commercial aviation. In May, the country officially enacted a ban on short-haul domestic flights on routes where train lines exist as an alternative. Though that law had lofty aims, in reality, it only resulted in nixing a total of three routes: Nantes, Lyon, and Bordeaux to Paris-Orly airport. Connecting flights weren’t included in the ban, leading some environmental activists to call the law toothless. Experts argued that resources would be better spent on researching how to utilize new technology like sustainable aviation fuel or electric aircraft.

“Instead of pursuing tokenistic bans, governments need to throw their efforts into advancing these real, meaningful solutions,” Laurent Donceel, acting managing director for lobbying group Airlines For Europe, told the New York Times of the short-flight ban in May.

It’s not clear whether other EU countries would approve the measure, but some of them have been targeting air travel emissions themselves. The Netherlands just approved an ongoing cap on the number of flights that can take off from