France is about to propose to the EU a minimum flight price policy that ends the war on low-cost airfares. France’s Transport Minister Clément Beaune said the measure is aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
Earlier to this, the French government has been vocal about increasing the tax on flights departing France to fund rail investments, with a concern on pollution.
French Transport Minister Clément Beaune wants
“ the establishment of a minimum air ticket price ” in Europe in order to “ fight against social and environmental dumping ”, he explains in an interview with L’Obs on Wednesday . This " proposal " will be submitted to his counterparts in the European Union " in the days to come ", he announced. “ Plane tickets at 10 euros, at a time of ecological transition, this is no longer possible! This does not reflect the price for the planet .”
These call prices do not cover the real cost per passenger of air travel, which emits much more greenhouse gases than the train.
“ I fully accept the taxation of polluting activities to invest in this ecological transition ,” he explains, while the government already plans to increase the so-called “ solidarity ” tax applying to all flights departing from France. in order to finance investments in rail.
Worth noting , additional taxes on motorway companies and plane tickets are expected to be included in France's 2024 budget.
