UAE’s Etihad, UK-based Satavia sign contrail management contract

UAE’s Etihad, UK-based Satavia sign contrail management contract

Etihad Airways is accelerating its progress towards climate-neutral operations. It has signed a key contract with Satavia, a UK-based green aerospace firm, to expand the scope for contrail management within its daily flight operations. The contract was signed at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi. The contract also incorporates an agreement to collaborate on the generation of future carbon credits from contrail management activity. The partnership builds on a previous proof-of-concept engagement signed in November 2022. Once in force, the new agreement will see Etihad raising Satavia contrail prevention across daily flight schedules Aircraft-generated condensation trails, or contrails, cause surface warming responsible for up to two-thirds of aviation’s climate impact, significantly outweighing direct CO2 emissions from aircraft engines. Satavia’s contrail management platform, DECISIONX:NETZERO, optimises commercial flight plans for greener operations, implementing small routing changes on a minority of flights to avoid the formation of persistent warming contrails. Etihad’s head of Sustainability and Excellence Mariam Al Qubaisi, said, “Our collaboration with Satavia illustrates the possibility of credible sustainability advances in day-to-day commercial operations. “In 2022 alone, Satavia technology has enabled us to eliminate thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent climate impact. We are delighted to sign