我们在亚太地区新开展的航迹云规避试验

内容总结:
亚太地区航迹云规避试验新进展:AI预测助力航空减排
航迹云是飞机在寒冷潮湿空气中飞行时形成的细长白色线条,多数会迅速消散,但部分可持续存在并扩散成云状形态,在大气中困住热量,加剧气候变暖。据统计,航迹云约占航空业总气候影响的三分之一。过去几年,相关减排努力已从人工智能研究模型发展到美国及北大西洋地区的实际测试,如今进一步扩展至全球增长最快的航空市场——亚太地区。
谷歌携手国泰航空,开展亚太地区首次超长航程航迹云规避试验。早期试验覆盖超过80架次航班,通过采用规避航线,航迹云增温效应预计降低约四成。目前试验正扩展至国泰航空覆盖广泛的全球航线网络,以全面评估航迹云规避在运营层面的可行性,并为全球相关研究提供数据支持。
将预测性AI引入驾驶舱是本次试验的一大亮点。理论上,规避航迹云操作简便:飞机可像绕飞湍流一样,略微调整飞行高度,避开易形成增温型航迹云的寒冷潮湿大气区域。飞行员和机组团队本就常因各种运营原因进行此类小型、计划内调整,且始终在既定安全参数范围内进行,预计不会对乘客或飞行安全造成影响。实际操作中,航迹云规避意味着在飞机起飞前,将可执行的数据提前传递给飞行团队,再同步至驾驶舱。基于此前在真实运营中的部署经验,谷歌正与国泰航空合作,将这一解决方案扩展至亚太地区。
该系统整合AI预测、卫星图像和高级气象情报,提前锁定航迹云易形成区域,供签派员和飞行员规划小幅高度调整。在空中,国泰航空通过机上Wi-Fi和自有的电子飞行包将动态预报直接传至驾驶舱,飞行员可在常规运营指标之外实时获取洞察,且不干扰标准驾驶舱工作流程。
试验正从概念验证迈向规模化应用。首阶段试验覆盖国泰航空网络内逾百架次航班,其中超80架次执行航迹云规避航线,谷歌卫星图像分析估计,这些航班将航迹云增温效应降低了约40%。香港至新加坡走廊是测试航线之一,该空域航班频繁遭遇有利于航迹云持续形成的条件。分析显示,仅此一条航线上的干预措施,就占试验总减排量的50%以上。
目前,谷歌正与国泰航空扩大合作,开展更大规模的第二阶段试验飞行,并与致力于航迹云缓解科学研究的非营利组织Contrails.org携手推进。相关试验有助于深化对亚太及跨太平洋航线不同运营环境中航迹云规避可行性的理解,并为全球航迹云研究积累宝贵数据。
航迹云减缓仍是航空业当前最可立即实施、最具扩展性和成本效益的减排手段之一,使用现有飞机和燃料即可启动。通过共同推进开放式航迹云研究,有望加速航迹云科学进步,释放航空业最具潜力的低成本气候解决方案。
中文翻译:
我们在亚太地区的新航迹云规避试验
航迹云是飞机在穿越寒冷潮湿空气时,在机身后方形成的细长白色条纹。绝大多数航迹云会迅速消散,但有些会持续存在并扩散成云状结构,通过在大气中捕获热量而加剧气候变暖。
航迹云约占航空业总体气候影响的三分之一。在过去几年中,我们减少航迹云的努力已经从AI研究模型发展为实际试验——从美国本土,到跨北大西洋航线,如今又扩展到了亚太地区——这个全球增长最快的航空市场。
我们正与国泰航空合作,这是我们在亚洲的首家商业航空公司合作伙伴,在超远程航线上测试航迹云规避¹。我们的早期试验覆盖了80多个航班,通过遵循航迹云规避航线,航迹云的气候变暖影响估计减少了约40%。我们现在正在扩大试验范围,以获取国泰航空覆盖亚洲的广泛全球航线网络的洞察,帮助评估航迹云规避的运营可行性,同时为全球航迹云研究做出贡献。
将预测性AI带入驾驶舱
航迹云规避令人兴奋之处在于,它在理论上可以非常简单。飞机会微调飞行高度,以避开容易形成增温航迹云的寒冷潮湿大气区域,就像飞行员绕行湍流一样。飞行员和飞行团队出于各种运营原因,经常会在既定的安全参数范围内做出这类小幅度的计划性调整。这些调整预计不会影响乘客体验或飞行安全。在实践中,为规避航迹云而调整飞行高度意味着需要在飞机离港前很长时间就向飞行团队提供可操作的数据,然后将这些数据传送到驾驶舱。基于我们此前在实际运营中部署航迹云解决方案的经验,我们正在与国泰航空合作,将其使用范围扩展到亚太地区。
我们的系统将AI预测、卫星图像和先进的气象智能相结合,提前精准定位这些易形成航迹云的区域,使签派员和飞行员能够规划小幅度的绕飞高度调整。在空中,国泰航空通过机上Wi-Fi和其专有的电子飞行文件夹(EFF)将这些动态预报直接传送到驾驶舱,让飞行员在常规运营指标之外获得实时洞察,同时不干扰标准的驾驶舱工作流程。
从概念验证走向规模化试验
我们启动了一项运营试验,目标覆盖国泰航空航线网络的100多个航班。其中80多个航班遵循了航迹云规避航线,谷歌的卫星图像分析估计,这些航班将航迹云的气候变暖影响减少了约40%。香港—新加坡走廊是受测航线之一,因为该空域的航班经常遇到有利于持续性航迹云形成的条件。试验分析表明,仅这一条航线上的干预措施就占试验总减排量的50%以上。
目前,我们正在将国泰航空的合作扩展至更大规模的第二阶段试飞,并与Contrails.org——一个致力于推进航迹云减缓科学的非营利组织——展开合作。这些试验正在帮助人们更广泛地了解航迹云规避如何在亚洲和跨太平洋航线的不同运营环境中发挥作用,并为不断增长的全球航迹云研究体系做出贡献。
航迹云减缓仍然是减少航空气候足迹的最直接可行、最具可扩展性和成本效益的方式之一,而且利用现有的飞机和燃油就可以立即启动。通过共同推进开放性的航迹云研究,我们希望加速航迹云科学的进步,并释放航空业目前可用的最有前景、最具成本效益的气候解决方案之一。
英文来源:
Our new contrail avoidance trial in Asia-Pacific
Contrails are the thin, white streaks that form behind airplanes when they fly through cold, humid air. Most dissipate quickly, but some can persist and spread into cloud-like formations that contribute to warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Contrails are responsible for roughly one-third of aviation’s total climate impact. And over the past few years, our efforts to reduce them have evolved from AI research models to real-world trials in the United States, across the North Atlantic, and now, in the Asia-Pacific region, the world’s fastest growing aviation market.
We’re partnering with Cathay Pacific, our first commercial airline partner in Asia to test contrail avoidance on ultra-long-haul flights 1 . Our early trials ran over 80 flights and have achieved roughly 40% estimated reduction in the warming impact of contrails by following contrail-avoidance routes. We’re now expanding the trials to provide insights across Cathay Pacific’s Asia extensive global network, helping evaluate the operational feasibility of contrail avoidance while contributing to global contrails research.
Putting predictive AI into the cockpit
What’s exciting about avoiding contrails is that it can be very straightforward in theory. Aircraft adjust their altitude slightly to steer clear of cold, humid atmospheric zones where warming contrails are likely to form, much like pilots do to navigate around turbulence. Pilots and flight teams routinely make these kinds of small, planned adjustments for a variety of operational reasons, always within established safety parameters. These adjustments are not expected to impact passengers or the safety of the flight. Adjusting flight altitudes for contrail avoidance in practice means giving flight teams actionable data long before an aircraft leaves the gate, and then feeds that data to the cockpit. Building on our previous work deploying the contrail solution in live operations, we're partnering with Cathay Pacific to expand its use into the Asia-Pacific region.
Our system brings together AI predictions, satellite imagery, and advanced weather intelligence to pinpoint these contrail-forming zones in advance, allowing dispatchers and pilots to plan slight altitude shifts around them. In the air, Cathay Pacific connects these dynamic forecasts directly to the flight deck through in-flight Wi-Fi and its proprietary Electronic Flight Folder (EFF), giving pilots live insights alongside usual operational metrics without interrupting standard cockpit workflows.
Moving from proof of concept to scalable trial
We started an operational trial with more than 100 flights targeted across Cathay Pacific's network. More than 80 flights followed contrail-avoidance routes, with Google’s satellite imagery analysis estimating that these flights reduced the warming impact of contrails by roughly 40%. The Hong Kong–Singapore corridor was among the routes tested, as flights in this airspace frequently encounter conditions conducive to persistent contrail formation. Analysis from the trial indicates that interventions on this single route account for more than 50% of the trial’s total emissions reductions.
Now, we're scaling the partnership with Cathay Pacific on a larger second phase of trial flights and partnering with Contrails.org, a nonprofit initiative dedicated to advancing the science of contrail mitigation. The trials are helping build a broader understanding of how contrail avoidance could work across different operating environments on Asia and transpacific routes, and contribute to the growing body of global contrails research.
Contrail mitigation remains one of the most immediately available, scalable, and cost-effective ways to reduce aviation’s climate footprint, and it can get started now, with today’s aircrafts and fuel. By advancing open contrails research together, we hope to accelerate progress in contrail science and unlock one of the most promising and cost-effective climate solutions available to aviation today.