The UK and Google are testing changes to flight paths to tackle aviation’s climate impact
The 30-month project will test whether route and altitude changes can cut contrail warming without waiting for new aircraft or engines.
- Britain is utilizing Google artificial intelligence to predict persistent contrails over the North Atlantic, aiming to help aircraft avoid atmospheric conditions where these trails form and reduce aviation's climate impact.
- Persistent contrails form when jet exhaust freezes into ice crystals in cold, humid air, then trap heat as clouds, creating a significant non-CO2 contribution to climate change that current engine technology cannot address.
- The Department for Transport is investing £2.6 million into a 30-month project combining Met Office weather forecasts with Google technology to suggest alternative flight paths, with tests scheduled for winters 2026-27 and 2027-28.
- Changing an aircraft's route or altitude can burn additional fuel, potentially increasing CO2 emissions, so the trial must determine whether avoiding persistent contrails outweighs the extra fuel burned during these adjustments.
- Aviation minister Keir Mather said the partnership aims to "find practical ways to make flying cleaner," joining broader government investments of £219 million for sustainable fuel and £43 million for electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft.
25 Articles
25 Articles
The Toronto Star
The UK and Google are testing changes to flight paths to tackle aviation’s climate impact
Hundreds of commercial flights will be told to change their paths over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean during the next two winters to show how minor altitude adjustments can reduce aviation's climate impact.
Associated Press News
The UK and Google are testing changes to flight paths to tackle aviation's climate impact
Hundreds of commercial flights will be told to change their paths over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean during the next two winters to show how minor altitude adjustments can reduce aviation’s climate impact.
The UK and Google test changes to flight paths to tackle aviation's climate impact
Hundreds of commercial flights will be told to change their paths over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean during the next two winters to show how minor altitude adjustments can reduce aviation’s climate impact
Condensation drags or "contrails" are formed when the water vapour contained in the exhaust gases of the engines condenses and freezes around soot particles in cold and humid air. They imprison heat, preventing terrestrial radiation from escaping into space. Aviation accounts for more than 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, but its impact on warming is greater due to other emissions and contrails that could account for "one third of the total climate…
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