A majority of Europeans want governments to ban short-haul flights where high-speed rail is an alternative.
Support for short-haul flight bans…if high speed is an alternative
The survey by SavantaComres found that 67% of Europeans support such bans if there is a high-speed option, with the highest level of support in France and Spain.
More people will train by train
The survey also shows that nearly half of respondents in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK are planning to take more long-distance journeys by train in the next five years.
While rail currently accounts for around one-third (29%) of long-distance journeys – judged as 2.5 hours or more – one-third of people also expect to travel more by train in the next 12 months.
In 2023, SNCF’s TGV and Ouigo services in France carried a record 123 million passengers, while Renfe in Spain hit their own high of 25.9 million passengers in 2024 and Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa service in Italy also recorded a peak with 45 million passengers.
