Cathay Pacific is partnering with tech giant Google on a project that aims to use AI to reduce the creation of contrails from aircraft.
Contrails are formed when aircraft fly through cold and humid conditions at high altitude. They account for around one-third of aviation’s total climate impact due to their warming effect, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The partnership between Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and Google will look at the operational feasibility and potential climate benefits of contrail avoidance across the airline’s network.
Work will include Cathay becoming the first global airline to test contrail avoidance on ultra-long-haul flights.
Google’s contrail mitigation solution combines AI-based predictive models with satellite imagery detection tools and weather data to forecast the locations of contrail-forming zones.
An operational trial that started in late 2025 saw around 80 Cathay flights following contrail-avoidance routes — Google estimates that using these routes achieved a 40 per cent reduction in the warming impact of contrails.
One of the routes tested was between Hong Kong and Singapore where flights “frequently encounter” conditions that create persistent contrails. Cathay said that early analysis indicates how “minor” altitude adjustments can reduce the climate impact from these flights.
Lawrence Fong, Cathay’s director of digital and IT, added: “Aviation needs solutions to address climate change, and AI is accelerating that progress. This partnership combines Cathay’s operational expertise with Google’s world-class AI capabilities to tackle complex sustainability challenges at scale.”