How will France manage this aviation sector, these private jets with a disastrous carbon footprint but also an economic windfall?
“The whims of a handful of privileged people have never been so polluted. And so justified, at the beginning of April, the proposed law of Paris deputy Julien Bayeux banning private aircraft in France was challenged. This question of business aviation illustrates the schizophrenia in the political and societal development of France. On the one hand Another, there is a commendable desire: more environmental responsibility, because a private plane emits as much carbon dioxide (8 tons) in four hours of flight as the average French citizen in one year.On the other hand, there is a thriving economic sector that brings in foreign currency – namely A rare fact that must be emphasized – foreign trade and “weighs” between 100,000 and 120,000 jobs and 30 billion euros in turnover.
According to the calculations of the non-governmental organization Transport and the Environment, an air trip pollutes between five and fourteen times more than a plane trip, which itself emits about forty times more carbon dioxide than a train. In 2022, France is the country with the highest number of private flights in the European Union, according to a study by the independent company CE Delft for Greenpeace and published on March 30. These 84,885 flights emitted 383,061 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of 47,882 French residents. Sometimes these routes are leaps and bounds, such as the 104 flight between Le Havre and Deauville, 15 kilometers away, or the 157 flight between Nice and Cannes, 25 kilometers away.
8% of flights and 0.04% of France’s total carbon dioxide emissions
Between 2021 and 2022, private jet traffic departing from France jumped 62%, resulting in a 93% increase in carbon emissions. The trend is similar in Europe, with an increase of 65%. A sector lobbyist argues that “business jets – the term ‘private jet’ is inappropriate as it is pejorative – account for 8% of flights and 0.04% of total CO2 emissions in France”. With 271,381 business trips recorded in 2022 (+12%), France remains at the top of the European ranking ahead of the UK (223,224 trips), Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Le Bourget remains by far the leading business airport in Europe, with 60,634 flights in 2022 (+25%). Nice Airport occupies the second step of the podium with 40,000 flights (+9%), ahead of Geneva and 36,484 flights (+14%), then London Farnborough Airports (31,300 flights) and Luton (28,909 flights). With, each time, a large number of inherent taxes.
Between 20 and 40 million euros per aircraft
With Dassault Aviation, France also owns the Falcon, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of business jets; 32 delivered in 2022 and 87 on order. A godsend, when you know that catalog prices range from 20 to 40 million euros per aircraft. Like other French aircraft manufacturers, Daher or Airbus Aviation, Dassault Aviation is supported by a group of subcontractors.
The political storm has subsided, but one certainty prevails: In the long term, the sector will not weather the storm. Suspend planes on the ground as long as they are not “decarbonized”? Forbid them to fly if there is an alternative by train in less than two and a half hours? Bets are open.
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