Air France (AF, Paris CDG) will have to "drastically" reduce the amount of domestic flying in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic after it has received state loan guarantees, French Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne told Inter radio channel.

The French government has been adamant about attaching environmental strings to the bailout for its flag carrier. Air France, which is set to receive EUR7 billion euros (USD7.7 billion) in loans either directly from the state or backed by it, has pledged to cut its domestic carbon emissions by half through 2024.

Borne did not elaborate on the conditions for the cuts in domestic capacity.

France has a well-developed network of high-speed rail, including direct connections to several airports (including Paris CDG). The carrier had already been selling TGV Air combined tickets before the pandemic covering short-haul routes to 14 cities in France as well as to Brussels.

According to the ch-aviation capacities module, for the week starting September 21, 2020, Air France plans to sell 423,585 seats on its domestic flights, which amounts to 32.1% of its total capacity for this week. The airline currently serves 30 domestic destinations in France.