Manuel Soler, Head of the Aircraft Operations Lab and Professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, recently participated in Radio Nacional de España’s programme A golpe de bit to discuss his research on reducing the climate impact of aviation and his nomination for the Frontiers Planet Prize, an international award that recognises groundbreaking scientific research contributing to solutions for planetary and climate challenges.
Soler’s nomination to the Frontiers Planet Prize, selected by the Royal Academy of Sciences of Spain, places him among the 25 global finalists and makes him the third Spanish scientist in the history of the award to reach the final. A recognition that highlights the international impact of Spanish science and the role of research in Spain in advancing solutions to climate change.
During the programme, Soler presented the research that led to his nomination, focusing on how optimized flight planning can help reduce aviation’s climate impact. The work aims to balance operational costs with climate mitigation, showing that applying targeted changes to just 10% of flights, with an estimated cost increase of around 0.2%, can reduce aviation’s climate impact by up to 30%.
Listen to the full interview, available on Radio Nacional de España’s website.