Tui halts flights between NL and Paris over emissions

Travel organization TUI will no longer offer flights between the Netherlands and Paris from he autumn of next year. The company wants to do its part to protect the environment in this way and points out that Paris can easily and comfortably be reached by train, RTL Z reports.

"Hundreds of flights depart from Dutch airports every day to destinations that are within a 700 kilometer radius", TUI said. "There are more sustainable alternatives for those destinations. Traveling by train for these distances is a cleaner alternative." TUI plans to buy extra seats on the Thalys train to Paris. Its flights to Paris are not operated with TUI planes, so no jobs will be lost. 

"We realize that no one person can make travel more environmentally friendly", said Arjan Kers, General Manager of TUI Nederland. "We all have to support it: travel organizations, airlines, the traveler and also politicians. We are happy to take this first step today and hope that others - companies but also the government - will follow."

TUI will still fly customers to other destinations in a 700 kilometers radius, like Berlin and London. "The train is just as comfortable for a trip to Paris as the plane. It is just as fast. But on a train to London, you lose time due to border checks at Belgium. If they disappear, the train could be a good alternative", a TUI spokesperson said to the broadcaster.

During a parliamentary debate on aviation on Tuesday, the VVD and D66 called for the Netherlands to do more to stimulate and experiment with electric air travel. The Netherlands can be a front-runner in this more sustainable form of travel, the parties believe.