Cathay Pacific and Google have expanded trials of an AI-powered contrail avoidance system across the airline’s Asia and trans-Pacific network, building on testing that began in late 2025. The programme uses AI forecasting, satellite imagery and weather data to help pilots make small altitude changes on ultra-long-haul flights to avoid airspace likely to form persistent contrails.
The initial operational phase covered more than 100 flights, with over 80 taking contrail-avoidance routes and delivering an estimated 40% reduction in contrail warming impact. The Hong Kong–Singapore corridor was among the routes tested and contributed heavily to the measured benefit.
Cathay Pacific is Google’s first commercial airline partner in Asia-Pacific for the technology and the first airline globally to test it on ultra-long-haul services. Google is extending the trial to assess how the system performs across a broader network and to add more data to global contrail research, including work with Contrails.org. The effort targets a climate issue that can be reduced through operational changes without switching aircraft type or fuel.