Short-haul Flight Ban
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A short-haul flight ban is a prohibition imposed by
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
s on
airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
s to establish and maintain a flight connection over a certain distance, or by organisations or companies on their employees for
business travel Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace. According to a survey, 88% small business owners e ...
using existing flight connections over a certain distance, in order to mitigate the
environmental impact of aviation Like other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to ...
(most notably to reduce anthropogenic
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
which is the leading cause of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
). In the 21st century, several governments, organisations and companies have imposed restrictions and even prohibitions on short-haul flights, stimulating or pressuring travellers to opt for more environmentally friendly means of transportation, especially
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
s.
A portion of air travelers in short-haul routes connect to other flights at their destination. A blanket ban would have a significant impact on these travelers, as inadequate rail connectivity between airports and main railway hubs of cities generally result in longer overall travel times and disruption to travellers overall.


Definition

There is no consensus on what constitutes a 'short-haul flight'. In public discourse such as debates and surveys, the term is often not explicitly defined. The
International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
(IATA) defines a short-haul flight as 'a flight with duration of 6 hours or fewer', and a long-haul flight takes longer than 6 hours. In practice, governments and organisations have set different standards, either according to the absolute distance between cities as the crow flies in hundreds of kilometres, or in terms of how many hours it would take a train to cover the same distance. As one example, the
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...
set limits according to both standards, namely prohibiting its personnel from flying distances shorter than 500 kilometres, or shorter than can be travelled by train in 6 hours. There was some confusion on how to calculate and reconcile both limits: as the crow flies, the distance between
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
is 465 km, but the road connection 577 km; moreover, the train travel time varies from 5.40 hours to 6.30 hours.


Overview


Governments

Governments generally impose short-haul flight bans on all citizens and businesses operating within their territory. Some exceptions for emergency situations are granted. * : As part of its
COVID-19 crisis The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
support programme for
Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
in June 2020, the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
introduce a special tax of 30 euros on airline tickets for flights spanning less than 350 kilometres (an unprecedented environmental measure within the EU), while airline connections that covered distances that could be travelled within three hours by train were henceforth prohibited. As an example, as of November 2020, the train travel time between
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
was still too long (3 hours and 1 minute) to replace flying (35 minutes, not counting security check and waiting times), but many other short-distance flights were replaced by train connections. * : On 3 June 2019, French MPs proposed to prohibit airline connections covering distances that could be travelled within 2.5 hours by train. French Finance Minister
Bruno Le Maire Bruno Le Maire (; born 15 April 1969) is a French politician and former diplomat who has served as Minister of the Economy and Finance since 2017 under President Emmanuel Macron. A former member of The Republicans (LR), which he left in 2017 to ...
stated in April 2020 and repeated in May 2020 that negotiations between the government and
Air France–KLM Air France–KLM S.A., also known as Air France–KLM Group, is a Franco-Dutch airline holding company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Tremblay-en-France, near Paris. The group has offices in ...
on such a 2.5 hour short-distance ban were underway. On 9 June 2020, as part of its
COVID-19 crisis The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
support programme for France's aviation sector, Le Maire confirmed that 2.5 hour short-distance flights would be prohibited, while Air France–KLM's domestic flights would be reduced by 40%. * : In June 2013, Dutch MP
Liesbeth van Tongeren Liesbeth van Tongeren (born 31 March 1958 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch politician, and former civil servant and director of Greenpeace Netherlands (2003–2010). As a member of GroenLinks, she was a member of the House of Representatives from 17 ...
(
GreenLeft GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...
, previously
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
Netherlands director) proposed to prohibit domestic flights in the Netherlands with the argument that they are needlessly inefficient, polluting and expensive, but Environment Secretary
Wilma Mansveld Wilma Jacqueline Mansveld (born 11 September 1962) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). She served as Undersecretary for Infrastructure and Environment, dealing with water policy, environment and aviation in the Second Rutte cabine ...
( Labour Party) said such a ban would violate EU regulations that allow airlines to fly domestically. In March 2019, the
House of Representatives of the Netherlands The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate. ...
voted to prohibit commercial flights between
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
and Brussels Airport (Zaventem). This distance of about 150 kilometres was covered by five return flights a day, most of them feeder flights: passengers from Brussels go to Amsterdam to embark on a long-distance flight from there, or vice versa. However, Infrastructure Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (
VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...
) stated that such a ban was contrary to the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
's free market regulations and was thus not implemented. * (): In 2006, Walloon
Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
André Antoine André Antoine (31 January 185823 October 1943) was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France. Biography André Antoine was a clerk at the Paris Gas Utilit ...
prohibited airline
Jet4you Jet4you was a low-cost airline based in Casablanca, Morocco. It operated services between Moroccan cities and destinations in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland (Sunway charter) and Italy. Its main base was Casablanca Mohammed ...
from making a stopover in
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
during a
Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
flight, arguing that short-haul flights of fewer than 100 kilometres caused too much environmental damage. In December 2006, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
confirmed that the ban did not violate any aviation agreements with Morocco, with Commissioner
Jacques Barrot Jacques Barrot (3 February 1937 – 3 December 2014) was a French politician, who served as European Commissioner for Justice between 2008 and 2010, after having spent four years serving as Commissioner for Transport (2004–2008) and Commissi ...
stating: 'The national authorities are allowed to take such measures, especially for environmental reasons.' Jet4you sued the
Walloon Government The Walloon Government (french: Gouvernement wallon) or Government of Wallonia (french: Gouvernement de Wallonie) is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium. It sits in Namur, where the Parli ...
, but in November 2008 the
Court of First Instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance w ...
in Namur confirmed the legality of the short-haul ban, rejecting Jet4you's damages claim and ordering the airline to pay 15,000 euros for court proceedings. Minister Antoine marked this as a victory and again urged the
Federal Government of Belgium The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-min ...
to introduce a countrywide prohibition on short-haul flights (which had been considered by the previous Federal Transport Minister, Renaat Landuyt). * : There is no ban against short-haul flights, but several have disappeared due to lack of subsidy or competition from train and road travel. Several domestic air routes are subsidised by the government in order to have reasonable travel times between the capital and remote parts of the country. A principle has been set up when to subsidise air routes: only when no other way of travel, e.g. through a unsubsidised air route or any train route, allow four hours travel time between Stockholm Central station and any municipality centre. The idea is that same day business travel should be reasonably possible. Some air routes, and therefore airports, have been closed down due to this. Storuman Airport was closed because
Vilhelmina Airport Vilhelmina Airport is an airport in the village of Sagadal outside Vilhelmina, Sweden. The airport has recently been given an alternative name, South Lapland Airport. Airlines and destinations Statistics See also * List of the largest airp ...
could be used for
Storuman Storuman ( sma, Luspie, Ume Sami: ''Lusspie'') is a locality and the seat of Storuman Municipality in Västerbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 2,207 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated by the Ume River, at the southeastern end of ...
. Mora Airport was closed because train travel time went under 4 hours. More air routes have been unsubsidised, but remained on a commercial basis and municipal support, but closed during the period 2000-2020, such as from Stockholm to Borlänge, Jönköping, Karlstad, Linköping and Örebro. They have got competition from improved railways and roads or got Covid-problems. An air tax has also been introduced.


Organisations and businesses

Organisations, including government organisations and NGOs, as well as commercial companies, sometimes impose short-haul restrictions on their own employees for work-related travelling, usually recommending or ordering personnel to take the train instead. Some exceptions may be granted for emergencies or destinations that are difficult to reach by train. If an employee's flight does not comply to the rules set by their employer, the travel costs will not be reimbursed. *
Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...
: On 12 March 2008, Mayor of London
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...
banned short-haul flights for all 20,000 employees of the Greater London Authority (alias City Hall), Transport for London and
London Development Agency The London Development Agency (LDA) was from July 2000 until 2012 the regional development agency for the London region in England. A functional body of the Greater London Authority, its purpose was to drive sustainable economic growth within ...
. A City Hall report published that day stated that all travel within the UK and most continental European cities should be undertaken by rail, unless such a journey would take longer than 6 hours. A 2010 Transport for London report noted: 'As train travel is less carbon-intensive than travelling by airplane many organisations now implement a ban on all short-haul flights where an equivalent journey by train of less than six hours is available'. *
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
(now
BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...
): The
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
decided in October 2009 that all BBC Worldwide staff members were no longer allowed to fly domestically or on short-haul flights on the company's expenses, unless when travelling by train added more than three hours to their journeys. Additionally, they had to formally explain why a meeting could not be held using one of the BBC's five videoconferencing suites before they were cleared to book a long-haul flight. The measures were taken to reduce environmental impact and cut costs. *
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
: The UK government's
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
-based Environment Agency banned its staff from making short-haul flights in June 2010, covering all of England and Wales and several destinations in continental Europe including Paris and Brussels, mandating them to travel by train instead; Edinburgh and Glasgow would still be allowed by airplane 'in exceptional circumstances'. The Agency had already reduced its business car mileage by 24% in 2006–2010 and wanted to set the right example in aviation, too, in part addressing public criticism over the
Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Busin ...
's many avoidable domestic flights. *
Catholic Private University Linz The Catholic Private University Linz is one of four universities in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria ...
: Since 2010, the KU Linz is reimbursing staff flights 'only if the most convenient train connection exceeds a travel time of 8 hours and if, in addition, emissions have been compensated via atmosfair'. * Klarna Bank AB: After the
flight shame Flight shame or ''flygskam'' is an anti-flying social movement, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of aviation. Flight shame refers to an individual's uneasiness over engaging in consumption that is energy-intense and climatical ...
movement emerged in Sweden in 2017, the bank Klarna decided to prohibits all its employees from flying within Europe and discourage long-haul flights.
*
Tilburg University Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilb ...
: The 'TiU employees business travel compensation' as adopted on 1 January 2018 states that, 'due to sustainability considerations', trips to destinations abroad until 500 kilometres are 'in principle' performed by public transport (meaning bus or train) or one's own mode of transport (mostly cars); beyond 500 kilometres, airplanes may be used. In case the rules are not obeyed, the TiU will not reimburse the travel costs. A February 2019 inquiry showed that, amongst the employees top 10 destinations within Europe in 2018, only one (London at no. #7) was within the 500 kilometre limit, apparently demonstrating the policy's success, although central oversight to compliance appeared to be lacking. *
Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
: In June 2018, Ghent University introduced a sustainable travel policy to cut down its personnel's 5,300 annual flights (causing almost 15% of its emissions), most of which had destinations within Europe. Going forward, business flights were forbidden to 'green cities', meaning reachable by bus or train within 6 hours, or 'if the travel time by train is no longer than the travel time by plane (duration of the flight + 2 hours, being the standard duration of travel time to the airport + duration of check-in + duration of transfer)'). For flights to 'orange cities', which are reachable by train within 8 hours, staff would be recommended but not required to take the bus or train as an alternative. Exceptions to these rules due to unusual circumstances might be granted after a formal request. All future business flights' carbon emissions had to be offset as well. *
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...
: In May 2019, the university announced that henceforth it would prohibit its personnel from flying distances shorter than 500 kilometres, or shorter than can be travelled by train in 6 hours. The ban sought to slash the approximately 5,500 annual flights taken by university staff to attend congresses and symposia abroad, causing 15 million kilograms of emissions in the previous 3 years. Note: there was some confusion on how to calculate and reconcile both limits: as the crow flies, the distance between Groningen and Berlin is 465 km, but the road connection 577 km; moreover, the train travel time varies from 5.40 hours to 6.30 hours. *
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...
: In September 2019, it was announced that the approximately 4,000 annual flights taken by university staff to attend conferences and meetings would be drastically reduced in order to contribute to emission cuts. Amongst other measures, more video conferencing would replace real-life events, flights over distances travelable by train in 4 hours and business class flights within Europe and the
MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...
region would be prohibited, and emissions created by unavoidable airplane travel would be compensated. *
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (german: Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde, literally ''University for Sustainable Development''; abbreviated in German as ''HNE Eberswalde'' or ''HNEE'') is a Fachhochschule i ...
: On 19 September 2019, Eberswalde became the first university in Germany to mandate its staff to avoid flying distances under 1000 kilometres, unless the train trip took longer than 10 hours, or permission was granted for exceptional circumstances. As a university focused on sustainability, it concluded it should take a leading role in more sustainable transport, including eliminating the annual short-haul flight emissions, which accounted for 10% of all of its emissions in 2018. *
HTW Berlin Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (''University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics'') or HTW Berlin in Berlin, Germany is the largest public Fachhochschule, University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and Eastern Germany. It has ...
: In late September 2019, the Berlin-based Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft announced it would scrap all staff short-haul flights travelable by train in 6 hours from 1 January 2020. The institutions' annual aviation emissions reportedly amounted to 263 tonnes; half of its business flights covered fewer than 750 kilometres. *
Flemish Government The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...
: Since 1 October 2019, civil servants of the Flemish Government are no longer allowed to travel by airplane to destinations closer than 500 kilometres, or travelable by land within 6 hours. Exceptions were only permissible if 'serious reasons' could be demonstrated. * SFB 1287 of the
University of Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...
: The 1287 Limits of Variability in Language department of the University of Potsdam no longer reimburses business flights shorter than 1000 kilometres or 12 hours train travel since 1 January 2020. * Institut für Energietechnik of the
Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil HSR (german: Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil) or University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil is a technical university in Rapperswil, a locality of the city of Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. HSR is part of the University of Applied Sciences of E ...
: 88% of Institut für Energietechnik members voted in favour (with 6% abstentions) of introducing a short-haul flight ban, defined as 1000 kilometres or travelable by alternative means of transport within 12 hours, for personnel by the end of January 2020. *
Wageningen University and Research Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...
: The WUR board announced a new sustainable travel policy in February 2020, mandating its staff (which flew 10,000 times in 2017, causing 200 tons of ) to travel by train for trips of 6 hours or less, with the train also being 'preferred' for trips taking 6 to 8 hours. Only 'when there are 'exceptionally good reasons' and with the boss's approval', flying for shorter distances would be allowed; these reasons would be evaluated after a year. *
Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...
: In March 2020, on the Radboud Green Office's recommendation, the board announced employees were no longer allowed to take business flights travelable by train in 7 hours, beginning in September 2020. It also planned to set up a partnership with an external travel agency to regulate its employees' travelling behaviour without violating their privacy, and invest in better video conferencing technology to make travel unnecessary. According to research by two
HAN Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
students, the plan would save Radboud University about 10% of all its emissions. *
Canton of Basel-Stadt Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as t ...
: In June 2020, all government employees were prohibited from taking flights to destinations closer than 1000 kilometres to the city of
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
for environmental reasons.


Public debate


European Union

During a televised debate ahead of the
2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...
in May 2019,
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
presidential candidate
Frans Timmermans Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is '' Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplo ...
proposed banning all short-haul flights in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, with his opponent
Manfred Weber Manfred Weber (born 14 July 1972) is a German politician who has served as President of the European People's Party (EPP) since 2022 and as Leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament since 2014. He has been a Member of the European Parli ...
partially agreeing that they should be reduced. Analysts pointed out that there was no agreed definition of the term 'short-haul flights', and that it could pose far-reaching implications for smaller regional airports that primarily serve domestic flights. In a September–October 2019 poll conducted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) amongst 28,088 EU citizens from the then 28 member states, 62% said they were in favour of banning 'short-haul flights'; the survey did not define the term.


Flanders

In August 2010, activist group Wiloo (Werkgroep rondom de Impact van de Luchthaven van Oostende op de Omgeving) demanded a short-haul flight ban and a domestic
kerosene tax The kerosene tax (German: ''Kerosinsteuer'', French: ''taxe kérosène''; Dutch: ''kerosinetaks'') is an ecotax on the kerosene-based jet fuel in commercial aviation, which can be levied within and by the European Union. The legal basis for it ...
in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, similar to the ones imposed in Wallonia in 2006 and the Netherlands in 2005 respectively, due to the rapid increase of pollutive domestic flights. A spokesperson said 700 flights (20%) in or out of
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
were only 300 kilometres or less, adding that it was 12 times more expensive to transport passengers from Ostend to Brussels by airplane than by
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
. On 9 June 2020, during a lull in the
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium The COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Belgium on 4 February 2020, when one of a group of nine Belgians repatriated from Wuhan to Brussels was repor ...
, Flemish Transport Minister participated in a short-haul flight of ASL Group from Brussels via Knokke to Antwerp, claiming she wanted to promote regional airports such as
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
,
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
,
Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
during the aviation crisis, because she was 'convinced that regional airports have a future in Flanders because of their economic importance.' For several days, her action was fiercely criticised by citizens and environmental organisations, who argued regional airports were 'not economically essential at all, but a source of damaging and perfectly avoidable emissions'.
Groen Groen or de Groen is a surname of Dutch origin, meaning ''green''.
politician Imade Annouri remarked: 'This is utterly sending the wrong signal. Several countries around us are abolishing short-haul flights and investing in
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
instead. (...) Businessmen can perfectly take the train to European destinations.' In light of the climate crisis, the Minister's decision was alleged to be 'irresponsible to society'. Peeters felt the need to apologise on three different occasions, first explaining she had accepted the proposal 'to take part in a press flight because business flights are an essential pillar of our regional airports', eventually expressing regret and declaring she shouldn't have embarked on the flight.


Germany

Timmermans' proposal triggered a fierce debate in Germany about banning short-haul flights (meaning shorter than 1,500 kilometres), with some politicians agreeing with him, others saying it went too far, and others supporting measures they deemed more appropriate. In mid-October 2019, the German Finance Ministry announced that it would not restrict short-distance flights, but would almost double the short-haul air passenger taxes instead, from 7.50 to 13.03 euros; medium-haul taxes would increase from 23.43 to 33.01 and long-haul taxes from 42.18 to 59.43 euros. Meanwhile, train tickets would become 10% cheaper. By July 2019, most political parties in Germany, including the Left Party, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Christian Democrats, started to agree to move all governmental institutions remaining in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
(the former capital of
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
) to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(the official capital since
German Reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
in 1990), because ministers and civil servants were flying between the two cities about 230,000 times a year, which was considered too impractical, expensive and environmentally damaging. The distance of 500 kilometres between Bonn and Berlin could only be travelled by train in 5.5 hours, so either the train connections required upgrading, or Bonn had to be abolished as the secondary capital.


Netherlands

Although in March 2019 almost all Dutch parliamentary parties agreed that train travel should replace short-distance aviation, there were also some practical problems to be solved before trains could become a viable alternative, such buying a combined train/plane ticket, the lack of a direct
Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Li ...
connection from Amsterdam Central and Paris-North to Brussels Airport (forcing passengers to switch trains in Brussels-South), and the fact that the Benelux train (which does directly connect Schiphol and Zaventem) takes over 2 hours (mostly due to the lack of a high-speed rail between Antwerp and Brussels). In November 2019, a
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...
Boeing 777 cargo flight line from Doha to Mexico City with stopovers in Maastricht and Liège sparked controversy over 'the most bizarre flight ever', as the distance between the latter two is only 38 kilometres and takes just 9 minutes, merely because a single Dutch customer requested their weekly package to be delivered in Maastricht rather than Liège. In response, two of the four Dutch government parties suggested prohibiting all flights shorter than 100 kilometres. In September-October 2022, research by
RTL Nieuws RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL Z, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 million pe ...
revealed that Dutch ministers, state secretaries and the royal couple
Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...
and Máxima were increasingly making short business flights on the Dutch government aircraft PH-GOV (a
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
-700), private aircraft or commercial airliners (a 38% increase compared to 2019), even though this was contrary to the January 2022 coalition agreement to discourage short flights. Moreover, many aircraft flew empty back and forth in inefficient and environmentally polluting ways, and most distances could in principle have been covered perfectly well by train, or, if necessary, scheduled flights. This was evident in part because some ministers such as Dijkgraaf (education) and Harbers (infrastructure) travelled by official car or train from The Hague to Luxembourg or Paris in the first eight months of 2022, but Prime Minister Rutte and Minister Hoekstra (foreign affairs) together made 8 out of 12 flights to Luxembourg or Paris, mostly by government aircraft PH-GOV. Aviation experts were critical of the needlessly polluting and expensive travel behaviour of the ministers who were supposed to set a good example, and private aviation was also unhappy with the many short flights because of the high costs. In response to RTL's findings, coalition parties D66 and ChristenUnie reacted critically to the cabinet. and coalition party CDA also raised parliamentary questions about short and environmentally polluting empty flights, for instance between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, for a limited gain of time for a minister. Opposition party GroenLinks wanted to field a motion to force the cabinet and the king to travel by train for trips shorter than 700 kilometres. The Ministry of Infrastructure confirmed that the climate impact of aviation needed to be reduced, although ministers also needed to be able to do their jobs efficiently. The Interior Ministry also said that short flights were often unnecessary: "The time savings with flying are very limited, flying has more logistical challenges and is less flexible in terms of time than a train connection." However, according to the State Information Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alternative transport was not possible for all trips by commercial private jets, 'because the government plane was not available and other means of transport did not fit agendas.'


Universities


Movements

In response to the 8 October 2018 IPCC report, more than 650 Danish academics from various disciplines published an open letter on 19 November 2018, calling on the managements of (Danish) universities to lead by example in combating climate change. Item no. #1 on their 5-point priority list was 'drastically reducing flights and supporting climate-friendly alternatives'. On 4 February 2019, 55 Dutch scientists, referring to the Danish initiative, published a similar 'Climate Letter', including item no. #2: 'Drastically reducing flights, with insightful targets, including through exercising critical consideration before travelling, using alternative modes of transport, and investing in climate-friendly alternatives and behavioural change to enable remote participation at academic consultations, conferences and exchanges.' By 7 March 2019, all 14 Dutch universities (united in the VSNU) had expressed their support for the Climate Letter, which had been signed by almost 1,300 members of staff at that point. VSNU President
Pieter Duisenberg Pieter Jacob Duisenberg (born 2 June 1967) is an American-born Dutch politician and businessman who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2012 to 2017 for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He resigned to become ...
stated: 'The academic community can and must play a leading role in addressing climate change. This not only involves knowledge, but also whatever we as universities can do ourselves.' Many Dutch universities were inspired by
Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...
's sustainable travel policy. In July 2019,
Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...
professor Martina Schäfer similarly initiated a 'Commitment to renounce short-haul (business) flights' (described as 'travelable without flying in below 12 hours', or 1,000 kilometres), which was signed by over 1,700 German academics by 20 September 2019. The day before,
Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (german: Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde, literally ''University for Sustainable Development''; abbreviated in German as ''HNE Eberswalde'' or ''HNEE'') is a Fachhochschule i ...
became the first Germany university to make the voluntary commitment to avoid flying distances shorter than 1000 kilometres or 10 hours train travel mandatory for all employees.


Discussions

Aside from advocating for more sustainable short-distance travel and arguing that the scientific community should lead by example, some academics have questioned the necessity and thereby justifications for many international flights in order to attend scientific conferences or researchers' meetings. Liesbeth Enneking (
Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...
) stated that congresses have little added value, as researchers can already access their colleagues around the world through the online publication of their papers, and meeting peers in real life and speaking to them face to face is rarely important for their work. 'Attending congresses is sometimes mostly just stimulating your ego, and a nice trip, (...) but for the planet's sake, this is a privilege that we can no longer afford on this scale', Enneking stated; she stopped flying in 2017. Cody Hochstenbach (
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
) narrated how many short (for example, two days) international research meetings are 'great to catch up with each other and to discover a new city, but seldom they are actually productive. I was therefore enormously surprised that a Japanese professor had flown all the way to attend this meeting n_Le_Havre.html"_;"title="Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre">Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre_Moreover,_he_had_a_heavy_ n_Le_Havre.html"_;"title="Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre">Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre_Moreover,_he_had_a_heavy_jet_lag">Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre.html"_;"title="Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre">Le_Havre.html"_;"title="n_Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre_Moreover,_he_had_a_heavy_jet_lag_and_regularly_fell_asleep_during_the_sessions._It's_obviously_an_expensive_affair_to_have_someone_flown_in_across_half_the_planet_for_just_two_days._I_find_it_even_more_insane_that_universities_facilitate_and_even_encourage_this_behaviour.'
_Referring_to_arguments_made_by_other_academics,_he_added_that_this_behaviour_was_a_form_of_socioeconomic_injustice_towards_many_people_with_lower_education_and_income_who_could_never_even_afford_such_long_flights._Individual_scientists_should_take_their_responsibility_and_fulfil_the_Burden_of_proof_(philosophy).html" ;"title="jet_lag.html" ;"title="Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre.html" ;"title="Le_Havre.html" ;"title="n Le Havre">n Le Havre">Le_Havre.html" ;"title="n Le Havre">n Le Havre Moreover, he had a heavy jet lag">Le_Havre">n_Le_Havre.html" ;"title="Le_Havre.html" ;"title="n Le Havre">n Le Havre">Le_Havre.html" ;"title="n Le Havre">n Le Havre Moreover, he had a heavy jet lag and regularly fell asleep during the sessions. It's obviously an expensive affair to have someone flown in across half the planet for just two days. I find it even more insane that universities facilitate and even encourage this behaviour.' Referring to arguments made by other academics, he added that this behaviour was a form of socioeconomic injustice towards many people with lower education and income who could never even afford such long flights. Individual scientists should take their responsibility and fulfil the Burden of proof (philosophy)">burden of proof to demonstrate that their flights to such conferences are really useful, and cannot be replaced by trains. Climate lawyer Laura Burgers said: 'Some scientific conferences abroad are no doubt useful, but we should be honest: often it's just fun to make a trip. Such advantages do not outweigh the environmental damage, however,' recounting her experience of a conference where scientists discussed research that had already been published and thus 'a waste of time and flight emissions'. While acknowledging that the current intensity should be reduced, other academics partially disagree, saying that, especially for young researchers, getting and staying in touch with their international colleagues in real life can really help to establish their network and advance their career, and make interactions easier and more complete than via video. Astrophysician Ralph Wijers pointed out that his research projects, including trips he needed to make for them, were funded by several different organisations who required him to travel with the fewest expenses possible, often forcing him to take generally cheap plane tickets rather than relatively costly train tickets: 'We should address this on a larger scale: the more pollutive for the environment, the more expensive I think it should be.'


Alternate approaches

Some universities have consciously decided not to impose a formal ban on short-haul business flights, but instead encourage their employees to consider alternative modes of transportation, or to fully offset their carbon emissions, or to consider videoconferencing instead of flying to conferences and meetings, judging that such an alternate approach would still be sufficient to meet set environmental goals. For example, the University of Copenhagen's prorector stated in February 2020: 'We're very keen to limit climate changes and we intend to reduce our total footprint even more. (...) The University's new travel policy does not impose a ban on air travelling, but sets out recommendations and suggestions for how to change travel habits. It is a matter of choice of transportation and providing alternatives to air travel. For example meetings and video conferences via digital platforms like
Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...
.'
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
has not introduced short-distance restrictions on flights, but set train travel as the norm for personnel journeys shorter than 6 hours or 500 kilometres since 2017. The university aimed to restrict thus-defined short-haul flights below 10% of all flights; since this was 5.7% in 2017 and further decreased to 4.5% in 2019, the policy was hailed as a success. In 2018, 90% of flight emissions were compensated by payments to, for example, the Fair Climate Fund. In November 2019,
Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
chose not to impose a flight ban, but use various other measures, such as providing employees with information about alternatives, investing in better video conferencing facilities, a train zone map that calculates travel times, and compensation for train ticket purchases, to halve its number of flight kilometres by 2030. A flight carbon offset requirement was already imposed in 2018.


See also

*
Aviation taxation and subsidies Aviation taxation and subsidies includes taxes and subsidies related to aviation. Taxation is one of several methods to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation. Types of taxes * Airport improvement fee, paid by passengers to the airp ...
such as the
kerosene tax The kerosene tax (German: ''Kerosinsteuer'', French: ''taxe kérosène''; Dutch: ''kerosinetaks'') is an ecotax on the kerosene-based jet fuel in commercial aviation, which can be levied within and by the European Union. The legal basis for it ...
*
Mobility transition Mobility transition is a set of social, technological and political processes of converting traffic (including freight transport) and mobility to sustainable transport with renewable energy resources, and an integration of several different modes ...
*
Night flying restrictions Night flying restrictions or night-time curfews, including night flight bans, are any regulations or legislation imposed by a governing body to limit the ground-perceived exposure to aircraft noise pollution during the night hours, when the majorit ...
(including night flight bans) *
Single European Sky The Single European Sky (SES) is a European Commission initiative that seeks to reform the European air traffic management system through a series of actions carried out in four different levels (institutional, operational, technological and contr ...


References

{{reflist Aviation and the environment Aviation law Environmental mitigation