Kick-off meeting held on 26 March 2026 in Madrid
The national research project ClimAtion – Climate-Smart Optimal Aircraft Operations for Next Generation Aviation has officially launched following its kick-off meeting on 26 March 2026 in Puerta de Toledo campus of UC3M.
The project aims to transform aircraft operations by embedding climate impact considerations directly into flight planning, trajectory optimisation, and air traffic decision-making. By combining expertise in artificial intelligence, optimisation, and climate science, ClimAtion will develop a new generation of learning-based models that integrate principles from nonlinear programming into deep learning. This approach will enable more advanced data-driven methods to assess non-CO₂ aviation impacts and to design climate-optimal solutions across multiple scales (from individual trajectories to network-level operations), while explicitly accounting for uncertainty.
A collaborative national research effort
Led by the Aircraft Operations Lab at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), ClimAtion brings together a consortium of leading Spanish universities to address the climate impact of aviation through advanced modelling, optimisation, and artificial intelligence. The ClimAtion consortium includes:
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) – Coordinator
- Universidad de Sevilla (US)
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC)
Structured research across four integrated blocks
The project is organised into four interconnected research blocks:
B1 – Climate Models (UC3M)
Development of AI-based methods to detect contrails and physics-based models to better understand their formation, evolution, and climate impact.
B2 – Optimal Flight Planning (Universidad de Sevilla)
Design of stochastic and robust optimisation approaches to evaluate and minimise the climate impact of flight trajectories under uncertainty.
B3 – Reliable Tactical Aircraft Trajectory Optimization (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)
Application of data-driven surrogate models and learning techniques to improve the reliability, efficiency, and accuracy of trajectory optimisation.
B4 – Network Scale (UC3M + all partners)
Integration of all developments at network level through large-scale simulations, climate impact indicators, and decision-support tools for future air traffic management.
Towards climate-aware aviation operations
ClimAtion aims to bridge the gap between climate science and aviation operations by integrating non-CO₂ effects—particularly contrail formation—into next-generation trajectory optimisation and air traffic management concepts.
Follow the project webpage to learn how ClimAtion will contribute to the development of climate-aware aviation decision-support systems, helping drive the transition toward more sustainable air transport. Visit: https://aircraftoperationslab.com/climation/