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Spain tries to outlaw short-haul flights
If they form a government, the new coalition wants to ban short-haul domestic flights where an alternative by train in under 2.5 hours exists
The Acting Vice President of Spain, Yolanda Díaz, has stated in an agreement she made with Caretaker President Pedro Sánchez to work together to try to form a coalition government that one of the flagship policies they will be pushing to implement over the next 4-year term is a ban on short domestic flights in Spain where an alternative exists by train in under two and a half hours.
The pair released another statement yesterday saying they wanted to reduce Spain’s workweek from 40 hours down to 37.5 hours, among a raft of other housing and employment measures.
Many domestic flights in Spain are operated by Iberia and Air Europa, acting as connecting flights to international destinations, especially to Latin America and the United States.
Most of the services that would be affected by such a ban go through Madrid, including Madrid-Barcelona, Madrid-Málaga, Madrid-Valencia, Madrid-Alicante and Madrid-Sevilla.
The aim is to reduce carbon emissions from short-haul flights, and the Spanish government is busy overhauling the country’s railway system to be faster and more modern.
Right now, however, there are no high-speed rail connections that stop at any Spanish airports. The first airport to be connected to the AVE high-speed train will be Madrid’s Barajas Airport in 2026, from where two AVE trains are planned to depart every hour. Nonetheless, airlines estimate that they need between eight and 10 trains per hour to be able to effectively replace short flights.
In response to the proposal, Mayor of Seville José Luis Sanz said, “The elimination of the Seville-Madrid flight is another offence that slows down our growth. It is a very hard blow that endangers our international connectivity and many congresses and events.”
Image: Iberia
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