Planes leave white trails in the sky that can actually trap heat and warm the planet. This project creates a smarter way to fly by predicting where these trails will form and steering planes around those areas. It is like using a weather app to avoid traffic jams, but instead, it avoids creating heat-trapping clouds.
Aviation creates non-CO2 emissions, such as warming contrails, which contribute significantly to global warming but are difficult to predict and avoid in real-time flight planning.
A set of innovative Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) and a tailored weather service to predict and avoid persistent warming contrails, validated through fast-time simulations and operational trials.
If you are a commercial airline dealing with increasing pressure to lower non-CO2 emissions — this project developed new flight operation concepts that help pilots avoid creating warming contrails. This allows for a better balance between fuel use and climate impact.
If you are an air traffic controller dealing with crowded oceanic airspace — this project developed ATM strategies and trials to minimize the crossing of persistent warming contrails. This improves the environmental efficiency of the airspace you manage.
If you are a weather provider dealing with generic forecasts that don't help pilots reduce emissions — this project developed a tailored weather service for operational mitigation. This creates a high-value data product specifically for climate-conscious flight planning.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or implementation costs are not provided; the project focuses on assessing economic impacts to ensure solutions are fair for operators.
The project targets TRL4 by June 2026, meaning it is moving toward a validated prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment, but is not yet at full industrial scale.
Based on available project data, there is no specific mention of licensing terms or patent strategies for the resulting Concepts of Operations.
The project provides material to authorities and regulators to help create a uniform rulemaking framework for minimizing non-CO2 climate effects.
The project period runs from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.
The project is led by Airbus, a major industry player, ensuring strong commercial relevance. The consortium is highly industrial, with 8 industry partners representing 42% of the 19 total members, supported by 3 universities and 6 research centers across 9 countries. This mix suggests a strong bridge between academic climate modeling and real-world aviation operations.
Contact Airbus (France) regarding the CICONIA project
Contact us to find out how to integrate TRL4 climate-mitigation CONOPS into your flight operations.
