# Google and UK Launch "Operation Blue Skies" to Cut Aviation Contrails With AI

*2026-08-19 02:02 UTC · Technology · 1 min read*

> Google, the UK Met Office and NATS launched a 30-month AI-powered trial to reroute North Atlantic flights around contrail-forming zones and curb aviation's climate impact.

Google, the UK Department for Transport, air-traffic provider NATS, and the Met Office launched Operation Blue Skies on August 18 — the world's first state-backed trial to avoid contrails across an entire oceanic airspace. The 30-month program targets Shanwick Oceanic airspace over the eastern North Atlantic, which produces roughly 5% of global contrail warming.

Google's AI models analyze satellite imagery and flight data to forecast where contrails are likely to form and how strongly they will warm the atmosphere. NATS controllers then nudge pilots by about 2,000 feet vertically — rather than rerouting them laterally — to steer clear of the identified zones, minimizing extra fuel burn.

Around 10,000 flights will cross the test corridor during trial hours each year, with only a small share needing adjustment. Researchers, including teams from Imperial College London and Cambridge, call contrail avoidance one of the cheapest ways to cut aviation's climate impact, since contrails trap heat much like CO2 emissions but dissipate almost immediately once avoided. Test flights run on select nights during the 2026-27 and 2027-28 winter seasons.

## Sources

- [blog.google](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/blue-skies/)
- [qz.com](https://qz.com/google-uk-ai-contrails-north-atlantic-operation-blue-skies-081826)

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TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2214-google-and-uk-launch-operation-blue-skies-to-cut-aviation-contrails-with-ai
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2287-google-a-velka-britanie-spousti-operation-blue-skies-na-omezeni-kondenzacnich