Thales, in collaboration with the airline Amelia and Breakthrough Energy Contrails, has expanded the deployment of a contrail avoidance solution aimed at reducing the climate impact of aviation. The initiative, tested on flight routes between Paris and Valladolid, Spain, helped prevent more than 20 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions in 2024.
The solution involves modifying aircraft altitude without altering their lateral trajectory, allowing for contrail reduction while keeping additional fuel consumption below 3%. Amelia plans to extend the initiative to more flights in 2025.
Since June 2024, the system has been integrated into Amelia’s Operational Control Center (OCC) tools, enabling operational agents to access alternative flight paths that minimize contrail formation. The approach, part of the DECOR project under France's 2030 investment plan, is based on weather forecasting and climate modeling provided by Breakthrough Energy Contrails. A ground camera from Reuniwatt, along with meteorological reanalysis data, is used to validate the effectiveness of the method.
According to Thales, the initiative has demonstrated an average reduction of 40% in climate impact on affected flights. Amelia has committed to expanding its application across eligible flights in 2025.
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