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Contrail Reduction: Minor Flight Tweaks, Big Climate Impact

A study suggests that minor flight path adjustments could significantly reduce the warming effect of contrails at a low cost per ticket.

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English

United Kingdom

TechnologyClimate ChangeEnergy SecurityEnvironmentClimateAviationCost

Transport EnergyUniversity Of Cambridge

Which flights are most likely to produce warming contrails and why?: Flights at higher latitudes, particularly over North America, Europe, and the North Atlantic, are identified as prime candidates for flight path adjustments to minimize contrail formation.
What is the estimated cost per ticket for contrail avoidance measures?: The estimated cost of contrail avoidance measures is less than \u20ac4 per ticket for a Paris to New York flight and \u20ac1.20 for a Barcelona to Berlin route, covering extra fuel and technology.
What is the main finding of the study regarding contrails and flight paths?: A study suggests that altering the flight paths of a small percentage of planes could significantly reduce the warming effect of contrails, potentially by half.
How does the warming effect of contrails compare to that of CO2 emissions from aviation?: The study indicates that contrails, formed by aircraft exhaust fumes mixing with cold air, have a warming effect at least as significant as CO2 emissions from aviation fuel.
What are the projected climate benefits of contrail avoidance relative to the CO2 penalty?: The study highlights that evening and night flights contribute most to contrail warming and that implementing these changes could yield climate benefits 15 to 40 times larger than the CO2 penalty.

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