On February 2, the Council of State dismissed the appeals of French airports that challenged the ban on air links when a rail alternative exists in less than 2 hours, the court announced.

The ban on air connections when there is a rail alternative in less than 2 hours 30 minutes, which came into force on May 23, 2023 with the publication of an implementing decree of the Climate and Resilience Act, had already been anticipated. Paris-Orly airport has thus ended connections with the cities of Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyon.

A contested ban

Although the ban does not apply to connecting flights, it was contested by theUnion of French Airports (UAF), which notably filed an appeal for “excess of power” against this decree.

It considers that it infringes on freedom of enterprise and is calling for its annulment and for the matter to be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. According to the airports, the text is incompatible with Community regulations.

According to the Council of State, “it has not been established by the evidence in the file that it [the ban, Editor’s note] would cause a distortion of competition between air carriers on the routes concerned, especially since its period of validity is limited to a period of 3 years at the end of which it will be subject, after evaluation, to a review”.

Ecological effects considered minimal

The UAF argued that the measure's effects on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be minimal.

But according to the Council of State, “it remains that it is likely to contribute in the short term to the reduction of these emissions in the field of air transport and cannot be regarded, in view of the challenges of the fight against climate change, as being more restrictive than necessary”.

A disappointing decision for airports

Consequently, the UAF “is not entitled to request the annulment for abuse of power of the decree it is attacking”, according to the court, which also refused to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice and ordered the organisation to pay 3.000 euros to cover legal costs.

Although the decision of the Council of State does not come as a surprise to the UAF, it is nevertheless a “disappointment”, declared Nicolas Paulissen, its general delegate, who is particularly concerned with the refusal to refer the matter to the European courts.

"We think it is a shame, we would have liked the European judge to be able to rule" on France's recourse to article 20 of the European regulation on air services, he explained.

 3 years to judge the effectiveness of the measure

It provides that a Member State may, "where there are serious environmental problems (...), limit or refuse the exercise of traffic rights", but stipulates that these measures must not cause distortion of competition and must not exceed 3 years.

The UAF “will meet again at the end of the three-year period,” promised the general delegate, recalling that the UAF “remains in the position (…) that eliminating domestic lines in this way is not the solution to reduce emissions.”

The Antenna, with AFP