Dimitri Qvintus: European Union should ban short flights.
European election candidate and SDP party board member Dimitri Qvintus calls on the European Union to ban short flights.
- The EU has not been ambitious enough on climate policy and emissions reductions in practice. To reduce transport emissions, I propose that if you can get from A to B in four hours by train, you shouldn't be able make the same journey by plane. Short flights within the EU should therefore be banned," Qvintus said in a press release.
- If we look at Finland, or Europe in general, a four-hour time limit for a train journey is a valid proposal. It should be noted that a one-hour flight is not a one-hour affair; it takes at least an hour and a half to get to the airport and go through security checks. The point is that flying between major cities is not justified from a climate point of view, nor is it justified from a day-to-day point of view.
Qvintus says his proposal is not revolutionary. He points out that France has already banned short domestic flights among EU Member States.
- In practice, this proposal would have a much greater impact in central Europe than here in Finland. The French ban was left to a couple of hours, which will not have the much-needed climate impact. The justification for this proposal rests on the fact that there are advanced rail connections and that the EU is committed to further developing rail links. A four-hour limit would mean that, for example, it would no longer be possible to fly from Paris to Marseilles on the Mediterranean coast. That distance can be covered by train in just over three hours, so it's not about making life more difficult for the individual, but about responsible climate policy," says Qvintus.
- Politicians have been afraid of people's reactions and have therefore left decisions undecided for far too long. If you ask the people of Europe, the answer seems very clear: according to a survey by the European Investment Bank, 62% of Europeans are in favour of banning short-haul flights. The people is ready, and so should politicians," says Qvintus in a press release.