This week you may have seen our articles on the confusion around Ryanair boarding passes, the light plane that crashed in the Paris suburbs And the history of the French radar network.
Here are other travel and transportation updates:
Air Transportation Updates
An updated list of airlines deemed unfit to fly in Europe has been published by the European Commission.
The list includes 130 airlines from 22 countries, including Russia, Armenia, Iran and Nepal. It was developed by a group of experts who meet twice a year, in Brussels in November.
Banned airlines include:
- Aurora Airlineswhich describes itself as “the most punctual airline at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky International Airport (Russia) in 2019”
- Air of Buddhainvolved in fatal accidents in 2011 and 2021
- Stealing Arnathe Armenian low-cost airline
- Iran Aseman Airlinesinvolved in fatal accident in 2018
Airlines are usually included because they do not comply with safety standards and procedures observed in the European Union. In some cases, this may be due to their limited access to maintenance personnel and facilities.
They can be removed from the list by announcing that they will meet EU safety standards, submitting to inspection and obtaining approval.
A list of the world's best airports has been published by the passenger rights advocate Air aid.
Based on interviews with 15,800 passengers in 58 countries between January 1 and September 30, 2023, the list gives airports an average score based on three factors, each rated out of ten: dining and shopping, opinion passengers and punctuality.
The ranking shows that:
- Muscat International AirportOman, achieved the best average scores.
- Tallinn Lennart Meri AirportEstonia, was the most appreciated by passengers
- Dubai International Airport had the best food and shopping
French airports perform poorly, the top three being:
- Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in 135th place
- Lyon Saint-Exupéry International Airport in 140th place
- Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in 150th place
In each case, punctuality was found to be the lowest ranking for French airports.
Train Travel Updates:
The prices of train tickets and rail cards will not increase in 2024, says the Minister of Transport.
“Trains must be affordable and accessible,” said Clément Beaune in an interview with FranceInfo on Thursday, November 7.
“A price shield was put in place last year during the period of high inflation. I hope there will be another one in place next year, even if it will be slightly different.
Mr. Beaune then announced four measures:
- Freeze of Ouigo train prices: “these are the most affordable trains for people of limited means,” he declared. “This is equivalent to one TGV in four.”
- Freezing prices for Intercités trains: “these trains which transport more than 12 million people each year are often neglected”
- Freezing of Advantage Card prices: “this will affect up to five million people”
- The introduction of a flat-rate and unlimited rail pass next summer: “for around €49, travelers will benefit from unlimited travel on TER and Intercités trains”
“These four measures concern the most accessible trains that people use on a daily basis,” said Mr. Beaune.
Learn more: A flat-rate rail pass could be introduced in France next summer
Visitors to Paris find its transportation system surprisingly good, according to a study.
Parisians, faced with rising prices, bed bug infestations and massive traffic bans in the city center, may feel frustrated by the city's transport network.
This feeling, however, is not shared by tourists.
A study by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) reveals that 84.6% of visitors to the city say they are “satisfied” with its transport network between 2014 and 2021.
This figure includes road users, but is only slightly lower (79.8%) for public transport.
While the global number of visitors to Paris remains lower than in 2014, the proportion of foreign visitors returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
The CCI notes that even during peak hours, Paris has one of the lowest average waiting times for road traffic of all European cities, at 3 minutes 50 seconds.
Despite a positive outcome, the Paris Olympic Games will attract many more visitors to the city than in previous years, which will inevitably put a strain on the network.
However, in its report, the CCI believes that this challenge “represents a unique opportunity to deploy new services and tools in the Parisian transport ecosystem”.
One of these tools is Tradivia, an automatic interpretation program that employees of the Paris metro (RATP) now have on their smartphones and tablets.
However, Paris News reports that RATP agents “did not show great enthusiasm”.
Learn more: Paris to vote on whether SUVs should pay more for parking
Ferry Travel Updates:
DFDS has won the “World’s Leading Ferry Operator” award at the World Travel Awards 2023.
This is the thirteenth consecutive year that the Danish company has won this award, voted for by passengers and its peers in the travel industry.
The company operates 10 routes in Europe, including Calais to Dover and Dunkirk to Calais and Rosslare, carrying 4.7 million passengers each year.
Brittany Ferries and P&O were also nominated.
DFDS Vice President Kasper Moos accepted the award on behalf of his company at the ceremony in Dubai on December 7.
Other winners included:
- Cannes – World's leading festival and events destination 2023
- Air France – World's leading airline to Europe 2023
- Martell (Charente) – First world tour of cognac distilleries 2023
- Qatar Airways – World's leading airline 2023
Questions have been raised about the Channel Tunnel's ability to handle delays
A lack of cohesion between Eurostar and Channel Tunnel operator Getlink is leaving customers confused if there are delays, it is claimed. BFMTV.
In one recent example, 700 London-bound passengers from Amsterdam were stuck on a Eurostar train for seven hours without power, food or toilets on November 30.
The train had to stop at the exit of the Folkestone Tunnel due to the collapse of an overhead cable.
In response to the delay, Eurostar, which is a subsidiary of French rail operator SNCF, said:
“Following a complicated situation due to the position of the train and the track infrastructure, certain safety procedures had to be respected before the train could be moved.”
But Getlink said: “Eurostar clearly failed to pass on relevant information to passengers.”
“It definitely looks like an emergency situation, but there is no communication from the staff,” one passenger said. BBC News.
In 2023, Getlink has invested €45 million to prepare the Channel Tunnel for increased traffic in the coming years, with plans to increase the number of trains passing through it at any one time from six to eight.
There are also plans to open up competition to more operators on the route.
However, BFMTV suggests that increased traffic could make the problem worse.
Learn more: Richard Branson 'plans London-Paris train service to rival Eurostar'
Road Travel Updates:
A request to reduce the speed limit on French motorways to 110 km/ha rejected by the government
Extinction Rebellion, an international environmental movement against climate change, is campaigning to reduce the speed limit from 130 km/h to 110 km/h.
The group illegally changed speed limits on highway signs by sticking posters on the signs.
It says that by reducing the speed limit to 110 km/h, motorists would use 16% less fuel and emit 25% less CO₂. Critics point out that it would also increase travel time by 15%.
Action by Extinction Rebellion Limoges to put forward one of the flagship proposals of the Citizens' Climate Convention 🌎 #citizenconvention : go from 130 to 110km/h on the motorway 🛣️https://t.co/xbjqJJRduw
— Extinction Rebellion France 🐝🌺 (@xrFrance) October 30, 2023
The Netherlands has already implemented a similar measure, limiting speed on motorways to 100 km/h between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
In response, the French government indicates that it is not currently considering reducing the speed limit on motorways.
Philipe Nozière, president of the French Drivers' Association 40 million motorists described Extinction Rebellion's actions as “extremely serious” and “delinquent” and questioned the merits of reducing speed limits.
“The average speed on the highway is 118 km/h. This proposal would have no significant effect on CO₂ emissions,” he said. “It would just lead to more people being fined.”
Learn more: No penalty for a driver stopped at 275 km/h on a French motorway
