Thales plans to conduct a large-scale trial of its contrail-avoidance system following a successful 12-month test with French carrier Amelia, aiming to validate the technology for potential commercial rollout by 2030.
The Flights Footprint solution, part of the DECOR project funded by France’s 2030 investment plan, was deployed on Amelia’s Paris-Valladolid route starting in June 2024 using Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. It integrates with the airline’s operational control center, leveraging weather forecasts and climate models from Breakthrough Energy Contrails to suggest altitude adjustments that avoid contrail formation areas. These changes limit additional fuel use and CO2 emissions to under 3% while reducing climate impact by up to 40% on affected flights.
Over 50 flights were monitored, with five selected for adjustments based on meteorological conditions. Ground cameras from Reuniwatt, analyzed by SII Group, confirmed no contrails formed at the adjusted lower altitudes where they were predicted. In 2025, Amelia expanded the system fleetwide, including Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, avoiding more than 2,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions and cutting average per-flight climate impact by around 70%, according to models verified by Klima.
Thales and Amelia integrated the tool into standard flight planning, focusing on high-impact flights that generate most contrails.