Shanwick Controllers to Reroute 10,000 Flights With AI to Cut 5% of Global Contrail Warming
Updated
Updated · New Scientist · Aug 18
Shanwick Controllers to Reroute 10,000 Flights With AI to Cut 5% of Global Contrail Warming
3 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Aug 18
Summary
November will mark the first airspace-wide trial of AI-guided contrail avoidance, with Shanwick controllers advising North Atlantic flights to change altitude rather than route normally.
Google’s forecasts will flag atmospheric zones likely to produce persistent warming contrails, and pilots may be told to shift by up to 2,000 feet under existing weather-avoidance procedures.
The £5 million Operation Blue Skies trial will run over two winter seasons, with 20 to 40 test days each year and about 10,000 flights passing through trial hours annually.
Hundreds of flights must be adjusted to generate usable data, which Cambridge and Imperial researchers will analyze; Google says each diversion may burn about 100 kilograms of extra fuel but avoid contrail impacts measured in tonnes.
Shanwick is a winter contrail hotspot responsible for about 5% of global contrail warming, making the project a broader test of cutting aviation’s roughly one-third climate impact from contrails.