Jessica Reed is a writer and editor with AIN. She joined the team in the fall of 2023 after two years covering the aviation industry at Avionics International. She earned her bachelor&#039;s degree in English (Writing &amp; Rhetoric) from Pepperdine University. Her hometown is St. Louis, Missouri, and she since has resided in Santa Barbara, California, and Brooklyn, New York, among others. She is currently based in Vernon, New Jersey.

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Led by Thales, the DECOR project is an ambitious initiative designed to reduce the environmental impact of air transport operations through advanced digital solutions.&nbsp;Supported by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) and funded through the France 2030 investment plan, the public-private collaboration aims to develop and demonstrate technologies that optimize flight paths.
The aim is to improve air traffic flow management to help the aviation industry reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.&nbsp;Partners in the DECOR project include&nbsp;Airbus, Air France, Amelia, Atmosphère, Cerfacs, CGX Aero, FRACS, and Onera.&nbsp;
“This latest illustration of Thales’s commitment to tackling climate change is a practical, large-scale demonstration of the French air transport industry’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact,” said Yannick Assouad, executive v-p of avionics at Thales. “The DECOR project is the next step toward achieving flight path optimization and will help to reduce the CO2 impact of flight operations by 10% before the end of the decade.”
DECOR is an abbreviation for “démonstration d’opérations eco-responsables” (demonstration of eco-responsible operations). At the core of the DECOR initiative is its focus on leveraging digital solutions to enhance collaboration between air navigation service providers and pilots. By optimizing flight trajectories and reducing airborne delays, the project seeks to minimize both CO2 and <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2024-07-20/engine-makers-and-aircraft-operators-grapple-non-co2">non-CO2 emissions</a>.
Thales’s expertise in avionics and air traffic management plays a critical role in these developments, building on the Green Flag airspace management concept it developed and flight-tested in partnership with Air France and the French air navigation service provider DSNA.
DECOR’s approach includes large-scale simulations and real-world tests on both regional and long-haul flights to evaluate the effectiveness of its proposed solutions. Beyond using flight-path optimization to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions, further improvements are expected as technologies evolve.
“A range of simulation and decision-support solutions makes it easier for aircraft operators (dispatch and pilots) [and] air navigation service providers (flow managers and controllers) to work together to implement lower-impact routes including the necessary network assessment,” according to Thales.
The project also aligns with broader international efforts, such as the SESAR 3 JU program in Europe, to enhance the environmental performance of air traffic management systems. By addressing operational inefficiencies in real time, DECOR is paving the way for sustainable aviation practices in the near term, while the industry awaits the full-scale implementation of technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel and low-emission aircraft.

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Initiative aims to reduce the environmental impact of air transport 

The DECOR project, led by Thales, aims to reduce the environmental impact of air transport operations by optimizing flight paths and air traffic management.

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