UK and Google Team Up to Tame Contrails Over North Atlantic

Google and the UK government are launching a joint project to reduce contrails from commercial flights over the North Atlantic. The program, called Operation Blue Skies, will run for 30 months and test minor altitude adjustments to avoid areas where contrails are likely to form.

The Shanwick Oceanic Control Area is a busy gateway for air traffic between Europe and North America, and it's also a hot spot for contrail formation. The trial aims to show that even small changes in flight paths can have a significant impact on reducing contrails.

Google will contribute its AI-powered forecasting tool to identify areas where contrails are likely to form. Paul Hodgson, Google's technical lead, said the goal is to demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in contrail formation on an airspace scale.