Our new contrail avoidance trial in Asia-Pacific

Our new contrail avoidance trial in Asia-Pacific Sep 07, 2026 | x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link We’re partnering with Cathay Pacific to test our AI-powered contrail mitigation technology, contributing valuable new data to global contrail research and advancing understanding of contrail formation and avoidance in the Asia-Pacific region. Kemal Armada Product Manager Max Vogler Software Engineer Share x.com Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy link Read AI-generated summary We are partnering with Cathay Pacific to test artificial intelligence that helps pilots avoid creating heat-trapping contrails. By making small altitude adjustments, our initial trials reduced the warming impact of these flight streaks by 40 percent. We are now scaling these trials across the Asia-Pacific region to prove this method is a practical, cost-effective way to lower aviation’s climate footprint. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Our new article explores how we’re testing contrail avoidance on flights across the Asia-Pacific. Contrails trap heat, so we’re using AI to help planes fly around them. We’re partnering with Cathay Pacific to adjust flight altitudes and reduce warming impacts. Early trials show a 40% reduction in the climate impact of these airplane trails. This simple, scalable solution helps make aviation much greener using today’s existing aircraft. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Those white streaks behind planes can actually trap heat and warm up the planet. To fix this, experts are using AI to help pilots fly at slightly different altitudes to avoid creating them. This simple change has already cut down the warming impact of these flights by about 40%. It’s a smart, easy way to make flying much better for the environment. Summaries were generated by Google AI. Generative AI is experimental. Explore other styles: General summary Bullet points Basic explainer Contrails are the thin, white streaks that form behind airplanes when they fly through cold, humid air. Most dissipate quickly, but some can persist and spread into cloud-like formations that contribute to warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere. Contrails are responsible for roughly one-third of aviation’s total climate impact. And over the past few years, our efforts to reduce them have evolved from AI research models to real-world trials in the United States , across the North Atlantic , and now, in the Asia-Pacific region, the world’s fastest growing aviation market. We’re partnering with Cathay Pacific , our first commercial airline partner in Asia to test contrail avoidance on ultra-long-haul flights 1 . Our early trials ran over 80 flights and have achieved roughly 40% estimated reduction in the warming impact of contrails by following contrail-avoidance routes. We’re now expanding the trials to provide insights across Cathay Pacific’s Asia extensive global network, helping evaluate the operational feasibility of contrail avoidance while contributing to global contrails research. Putting predictive AI into the cockpit What’s exciting about avoiding contrails is that it can be very straightforward in theory. Aircraft adjust their altitude slightly to steer clear of cold, humid atmospheric zones where warming contrails are likely to form, much like pilots do to navigate around turbulence. Pilots and flight teams routinely make these kinds of small, planned adjustments for a variety of operational reasons, always within established safety parameters. These adjustments are not expected to impact passengers or the safety of the flight. Adjusting flight altitudes for contrail avoidance in practice means giving flight teams actionable data long before an aircraft leaves the gate, and then feeds that data to the cockpit. Building on our previous work deploying the contrail solution in live operations, we're partnering with Cathay Pacific to expand its use into the Asia-Pacific region. Our system brings together AI predictions, satellite imagery, and advanced weather intelligence to pinpoint these contrail-forming zones in advance, allowing dispatchers and pilots to plan slight altitude shifts around them. In the air, Cathay Pacific connects these dynamic forecasts directly to the flight deck through in-flight Wi-Fi and its proprietary Electronic Flight Folder (EFF), giving pilots live insights alongside usual operational metrics without interrupting standard cockpit workflows. Moving from proof of concept to scalable trial We started an operational trial with more than 100 flights targeted across Cathay Pacific's network. More than 80 flights followed contrail-avoidance routes, with Google’s satellite imagery analysis estimating that these flights reduced the warming impact of contrails by roughly 40%. The Hong Kong–Singapore corridor was among the routes tested, as flights in this airspace frequently encounter conditions conducive to persistent contrail formation. Analysis from the trial indicates that interventions on this single route account for more than 50% of the trial’s total emissions reductions. Now, we're scaling the partnership with Cathay Pacific on a larger second phase of trial flights and partnering with Contrails.org , a nonprofit initiative dedicated to advancing the science of contrail mitigation. The trials are helping build a broader understanding of how contrail avoidance could work across different operating environments on Asia and transpacific routes, and contribute to the growing body of global contrails research. Contrail mitigation remains one of the most immediately available, scalable, and cost-effective ways to reduce aviation’s climate footprint, and it can get started now, with today’s aircrafts and fuel. By advancing open contrails research together, we hope to accelerate progress in contrail science and unlock one of the most promising and cost-effective climate solutions available to aviation today. Get the latest news from Google in your inbox Sign up for our newsletters with product updates, event information, special offers, and more. Done. Just one step more. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription. You can also subscribe with a different email address . Your information will be used in accordance with Google's privacy policy. You may opt out at any time. Posted in: 1 Ultra-long-haul flights are routes lasting more than 16 hours, often spanning 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) or more. 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Read the original: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/contrail-avoidance-ultra-long-haul-flights