One in four Germans support short-haul flight ban - survey

Nearly one in four Germans support a ban of short-haul flights, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by news agency dpa, Handelsblatt reports. One in three Germans (34%) is in favour of raising taxes on flights to make them less attractive and 26 percent of those surveyed opposed any change to short-haul flights. In addition, half of the respondents said they would support a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour or less: 43 percent of those surveyed would be in favor of a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour on highways, and 7 percent would be in favor of a speed limit that is even lower. 17 percent would be in favor of a limit above 130 kilometers per hour. Around one in four (27 percent) reject a general speed limit.

Cutting back on short-haul flights and raising taxes on international flights has become a key campaign issue for the Greens and Social Democratic Party (SPD) and their climate protection policies. Green Party chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock has said she would seek to ban short-haul as well as cheap flights. SPD rival Olaf Scholz has also come out against cheap flights, which have often resulted from airline price wars. Scholz is calling for a minimum price of 50 to 60 euros per flight, Thomas Stölzel writes in business news weekly WirtschaftsWoche.  EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans likewise took aim at the aviation industry, telling Funke-Mediengruppe, “Nobody has to fly 10 or 12 times a year." If the citizens limit themselves to one flight per year, then no problems arise, "neither for the climate nor for your own wallet". The SPD advocates a speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour in its election programme, as do the Greens in their draft programme, which has not yet been approved by the party conference.