- Jacques Witt / SIPA

  • Since May 11, train traffic has increased somewhat in France, with new rules to stem the Covid-19 epidemic.
  • Long-distance trains will not be able to have a filling rate of more than 60%, according to an instruction set by the government to guarantee physical distance between passengers.
  • However, these rules do not apply in airplanes, for health and economic reasons.

Adaptation to the terrain is the key, according to the government, to gradually lift the containment since Monday. This also applies to modes of transport, hence a different deconfinement depending on whether you take the plane or the train. When it comes to physical distance, the rules are not the same depending on whether you are moving on the rails or in the air. Why ? 20 Minutes takes stock.

Long distance trains filled to 60% maximum

On the train side, the SNCF has been increasing its traffic since Monday. The company also strengthens the cleaning and disinfection of trains and stations. To limit the risks of contamination, between passengers, the wagons cannot be filled. SNCF Voyageurs president and chief executive officer Christophe Fanichet told Parisians on May 6 that reservations will be blocked on long-distance trains, from 50% of the occupancy rate.

The Secretary of State for Transport announced that the filling rate of TGV and long distance trans would be "blocked" at 60%. "It is the level of economic balance, which allows both to achieve health security and not lose too much money for TGV," said Tuesday Jean-Baptiste Djebbari on France Inter.

No physical distance in aircraft

On the other hand, there is no maximum occupancy rate imposed by the executive in the aviation sector. As in the trains, the wearing of the mask is obligatory since Monday in the planes chartered by Air France, and the cleaning is reinforced. But the rules of physical distance will not be mandatory, so photographs of filled planes had caused many on flights, at the beginning of containment. Some supporters of an ecological turning point to get out of the coronavirus crisis view this lack of constraint for a sector they consider polluting, while the French state has released 7 billion euros to help Air France -KLM.

Contacted by 20 Minutes , the Ministry of Transport justifies this difference between rail and air. "A cabin is a fairly controlled sanitary environment, thanks to air filtering". According to the manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, 30% of the cabin air is renewed throughout the flight, and 70% is recycled, using so-called HEPA filters, the same as those used in hospitals. Combined with the wearing of an individual mask, mandatory on Air France flights, and the temperature of passengers before boarding, this filter system would limit contamination, even without physical distancing, according to a ministerial adviser. Air France has strengthened aircraft cleaning and sprays every five days "an approved virucidal product".

Air France uses nebulization in its planes as here in this Boeing 777. pic.twitter.com/75WeAghhHX

- Arnaud Tousch (@nanotousch) May 12, 2020

Air discussions between European countries

The ministry also underlines that, in fact, the filling of planes is low, since few passengers travel. "The occupancy rate is around 50%, and when the plane is not full, Air France can make sure to leave a vacant seat between the passengers," observed the Ministry of Transport.

This choice is also economical. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which groups 290 airlines, said on May 5 that it was against physical distance in airplanes, adding that it could raise ticket prices by 43 to 54%. "The economic model [of air transport] begins with a filling rate of 75%," said Jean-Baptiste Djebbari on RTL Sunday. "We are going to seek coordination on this with European countries," he continued. The fear is that companies will apply different filling rates and compete with each other, while the airline sector is one of the most affected by the coronavirus epidemic.

Economy

Coronavirus: Broken prices, smaller planes, redistributed routes… How will the airline sector be able to reinvent itself?

World

Coronavirus: Spanish company Iberia pinned for non-compliance with anti-virus measures

  • Coronavirus
  • Deconfinement
  • Plane
  • Society
  • Covid 19
  • Transport
  • Train
  • Aviation