American Airlines has teamed up with Google Research and Breakthrough Energy for a study exploring contrail avoidance.
Contrails (short for condensation trails) form when aeroplanes fly through layers of humidity, typically at least five miles above the ground.
While most contrails can disappear quickly, some can persist as cirrus clouds for hours depending on the conditions and can trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere at night. According to Google, contrails are responsible for about 35 per cent of the environmental impact of flying.
The study aimed to discover how pilots might be able to avoid creating contrails, with Google using satellite imagery, weather and flight path information combined with artificial intelligence to develop contrail forecast maps – locations of atmospheric zones that are likely to create contrails.
A group of American Airlines pilots used Google’s AI-based predictions on 70 flights over six months, choosing routes that could avoid making contrails.
Google Search analysed satellite imagery following the test flights and found that pilots using AI predictions reduced contrail formation by 54 per cent as measured by distance, compared to flights where pilots did not use the forecasts.
Juliet Rothenberg, head of product for Climate AI at Google Research, explained:
“We now have the first proof point that commercial flights can use these predictions to avoid contrails, as verified in satellite imagery. We’re grateful for our partnership with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy – together we’ve taken a significant step towards understanding a high-potential climate solution.”
Additional research, however, will be required to determine if this successful pilot “can be replicated and scaled”.
Google has provided an informative video explaining the project:
Jill Blickstein, VP of sustainability at American Airlines, added:
“The results from this small-scale test are encouraging, and, while clearly there are more questions to answer about how to operationalise contrails avoidance across our industry, we’re excited to have played a role in establishing this first proof point. And we’re looking forward to sharing what we learned with stakeholders in the aviation industry and beyond.”
Marc Shapiro, director of Breakthrough Energy Contrails, also commented:
“Avoiding contrails might be one of the best ways to limit aviation’s climate impact, and now we have a clear demonstration that it’s possible to do so.
“This study is a great example of what happens when creative, ambitious organizations work together to better understand and solve a tough problem, and we’re grateful for American’s and Google’s partnership.”
“We now have the first proof point that commercial flights can use these predictions to avoid contrails, as verified in satellite imagery. We’re grateful for our partnership with American Airlines and Breakthrough Energy – together we’ve taken a significant step towards understanding a high-potential climate solution.”
