Politics
France Takes Aim at Budget Carriers With Ban on Short Routes
- Planned new rule would cut shortest flights in favor of rail
- France following Austria with environmental strings on bailout
Traveler wait near social distancing guides at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, on June 15.
Photographer: Adrienne Surprenant/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
France plans to ban commercial air travel on the country’s shortest domestic routes in a bid to prevent low-cost carriers picking up links Air France is being forced to abandon as part of the terms of a bailout package.
“If we are asking things of Air France, it’s not so that low-cost companies can come along and start their own service,” French Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said Monday on RMC radio. Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc already operate services in France.