And that means they’d like Norwegians to find it more than a little bit harder to fly, and a bit more expensive, too, in proposals that are part of the party’s election platform for upcoming fall elections.
Like environmentalists in other European countries including France and Germany, they propose that ultra-short-haul flights that could be made quickly by train should be banned, with more money invested in high-speed rail. But the Miljøpartiet de Grønn would go further, banning advertising for domestic flights and killing duty-free airport shops to remove another flight incentive.
The key piece of the proposals is even more radical: A ‘personal flight quota’ that would limit the number of flights each Norwegian could take in a year, although it would be possible for people with more money to buy unused flight rights from others. The number of rights would be based on location and other socio-economic factors.
It’s not, of course, yet clear if these will be popular election slogans, but even those who have long advocated for more rail travel in Norway also point out that expansion could be very costly; the country is long and narrow, with major mountainous areas that have led to slow long-haul trips.
