Airlines to invoke EU freedoms to challenge green restrictions on short-haul flights

(EurActiv, 19 Jan 2023) The airline industry plans to invoke EU rights to freedom of movement to push back against environmental restrictions on short-haul flights, officials in the sector said, following a partial ban in France approved by Brussels in December.

Industry groups fear the ban could set a precedent for wider limitations across Europe on short-haul flying – once a symbol of cross-border liberalisation and now increasingly under fire.

French and European airports and regional airlines are laying out a new strategy to counter the ban on three French short-haul flight routes, which is in place for three years.

While they say a formal legal challenge is unlikely, they plan to invoke freedom of movement – one of four basic freedoms enshrined in European law – in informal reviews of the law expected to take place twice a year, and to lobby the government.

“We have the principle established by the EU of an open, liberalised market with the freedom to provide air services for any European airlines between any point within Europe,” one senior industry official said.

“And that’s basically to support the freedom of movement, people and citizens across Europe.”

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EurActiv, 19 Jan 2023: Airlines to invoke EU freedoms to challenge green restrictions on short-haul flights