Google Tackles Aviation Contrails in £5m Operation Blue Skies Trial

A UK-based consortium has launched Operation Blue Skies, a £5m, 30-month programme to reduce the climate impact of aviation contrails. The trial, partly funded by £2.65m from the Department for Transport, will evaluate the feasibility and environmental benefits of adjusting the altitude of commercial flights to avoid atmospheric conditions that contribute to the formation of contrails.

The programme focuses on minor altitude adjustments within standard flight operations, coordinated through standard air traffic control communication channels. The trial will take place in Shanwick oceanic airspace, the eastern half of the North Atlantic corridor, during winter months from 2026-2027 and 2027-2028.

Google's Technical Lead for Operation Blue Skies, Paul Hodgson, said private aviation will be part of this trial. 'Private aviation will be part of this trial,' he stated. 'All aircraft that pass through Shanwick are subject to NATS air traffic control, and as such could be deviated for contrail reasons, or any other reason, such as traffic, during test windows in the trial periods.'

According to Google, atmospheric modelling shows that Shanwick airspace accounts for about 5% of global contrail warming. The operation is designed to target the specific November to February window by using artificial intelligence (AI) models to work out where and when altitude changes could have the 'greatest potential to reduce contrail-related climate impact.'

Ian Jopson, director of Sustainability at NATS, added: 'Decarbonising aviation will take a range of solutions, and understanding the role of contrails is an important part of that journey. This trial will allow us to test how contrail avoidance could work within the complex, highly coordinated environment of air traffic management.'