04/09/2026
Google and UK partners launch AI contrail avoidance trial
Google is partnering with the UK Government and aviation stakeholders on Operation Blue Skies, an AI-powered trial to reduce warming contrails over the North Atlantic.
The programme will operate in the eastern half of the North Atlantic corridor, within Shanwick airspace, which accounts for around 5% of global contrail warming.
Over 30 months, the project will run two operational trials, each lasting around four months, with selected flights slightly adjusted to avoid contrail-sensitive regions.
The consortium includes Google UK, NATS, Contrails.org, Imperial College London, the University of Cambridge, and the Met Office.
The initiative moves contrail avoidance from individual airline trials toward coordinated airspace-scale climate mitigation.
🔗 AI-enabled flight planning becomes a practical tool for reducing aviation’s climate impact: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/blue-skies/