Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Air France, Atmosphre, Cerfacs, CGX, DSNA, Onera and Thales join forces on the Octavie project, with support from the Occitanie region, to reduce the environmental impact of commercial aviation

11/07/2022

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Optimising flight operations is one of the main ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the commercial air transport sector.

The Green Flag concept - whereby a pilot flying in designated sectors of airspace has a simple way to ask air traffic controllers for a more direct flight path or changes to the aircrafts speed and altitude - is set to become a new pillar of sustainable airspace management.

The Octavie1 project recently tested the Green Flag concept on two flights between Paris and Toulouse, with promising results.

The air transport industry is fully cognizant of its impact on the environment and has undertaken to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

To step up to this global challenge, one of the most effective ways of delivering results in the short term is to optimise flight operations and to enable commercial airliners to select the most efficient flight plans by following more direct trajectories and adjusting their speed and altitude in real time.

It is estimated that these measures could cut CO2 emissions in Europe by about 10% from as early as 2025.

To prepare the groundwork for this undertaking, Thales, Air France, DSNA, ONERA, Atmosph re, CGX and Cerfacs joined forces on the Octavie project, with more than 700,000 euros in financial support from the Occitanie region, to test the Green Flag concept under operational conditions.

Under the Green Flag concept, developed for the Provert study by Thales, DSNA (Frances air navigation services provider) and Air France, air traffic control authorities can designate certain portions of airspace as Green Flag sectors during periods of moderate traffic. Working in coordination with air traffic controllers, pilots in these sectors are then able to adopt the most eco-friendly practices by optimising flight parameters (route, altitude, speed) to minimise fuel consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The concept relies on the use of collaborative digital tools to simplify interaction between pilots and controllers and guarantee the highest possible levels of flight safety.

After laboratory testing of prototype technical solutions, the Octavie project has moved into a new phase, conducting the first tests in real-life conditions on two Air France flights between Paris-Orly and Toulouse-Blagnac in March 2022. The tests demonstrated the value of the Green Flag concept and its ability to reduce CO2 emissions while optimising altitude and distance. Thanks to easier interaction between the flight deck and air traffic control centres, controllers were able to maintain the aircraft at cruising speed for longer periods, and flight crews could adopt continuous descent approach procedures to reduce fuel consumption. These first flight tests produced promising results, which now need to be consolidated so that the Green Flag concept can be incorporated into air traffic control procedures at scale and on a permanent basis, even under dense traffic conditions.

Thanks to the strong engagement of the project partners and the support of the Occitanie region, we have just cleared an important hurdle in the race to decarbonise aviation. The test results and the lessons learned have paved the way for optimised flow management, which will make it possible to reduce flight CO2 emissions by 10%. Yannick Assouad, Executive Vice President, Avionics, Thales.

Decarbonising aviation is a key challenge for everyone involved in the air transport sector. The success of the Octavie project shows how crucial it is for all the stakeholders to work together to achieve realistic, ambitious and highly demanding CO2 emissions reduction targets like those adopted by Air France. Alongside its partners Thales and DSNA, Air France is contributing specialised expertise and resources to drive the innovations that will make air transport more sustainable. Laurent Lafontan, Senior Vice President, Flight Operations Technical Development, Air France.

DSNA is very closely involved in the ecological transition of air navigation and is delighted to have taken part in this project. The agencys environmental strategy covers all flight phases and has a particular focus on safe flight path optimisation. The Octavie project has been a chance for us to explore new ways of working in the pre-tactical phase. Florian Guillermet, Director of Air Navigation Services, DSNA.

The Occitanie region is the epicentre of Europes aerospace industry. Its the birthplace of the green aircraft, and a few days ago we adopted a 100 million euro regional investment plan to support green aviation. We need to invest massively if we are going to stay on the leading edge of innovation, research, development and training. Thats why the Occitanie region is supporting projects like Octavie, which are helping to reduce the carbon impact of the aviation sector on the environment. I applaud the seven project partners for their work and for successfully combining their expertise to cross a new milestone in the ecological transition of the aerospace sector. Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region.

One project, seven partners

Air France brings a combination of experience and expertise in airline operations, fleet management and flight operations. Its experts helped to define and develop the Green Flag concept, and the airline tested it jointly with DSNA and Thales.

Atmosph re specialises in satellite connectivity for flight mission management and in-flight testing. As the leader of the air-ground communications component of the project, the company was in charge of designing and developing an autonomous end-to-end connectivity solution for pilot/controller communications during the tests. The Octavie project has been an opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of Atmosph res satcom solutions and collaborative tools and applications. The experts involved i
LINK: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/aerospace/press_release/air-f...
See more stories from thales

More from Thales

30/04/2025

Thales modernises the world-class TACTIS armoured vehicle training centre for the Royal Netherlands Army

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales has secured a major contract to modernise...

29/04/2025

One out of three secure civil IDs delivered each year is powered by Thales

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn In a world where identity fraud represents a critical vulnerability for citizens and societies, Thales is leading the transforma...

25/04/2025

Thales and Deloitte form Strategic Alliance to Help Enhance Data Protection and Governance Services

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Enhancing Data Protection and Governance Service...

24/04/2025

Thales reports its order intake and sales for the first quarter of 2025

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Order intake: 3.8 billion, down -25% (-27% on an organic basis1) Sales: 5.0 billion, up 12.2% ( 9.9% on an organic basis) A...

23/04/2025

Thales and Michelin drive software revenue growth with innovative simulation software

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Enables Michelin to focus on development of its ...

17/04/2025

MGCS Project Company GmbH (MPC) established in Cologne

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thursday, 17 April 2025 - The next step has now been taken in the Franco-German armaments project Main Ground Combat System (MGC...

14/04/2025

Thales to supply NATO with latest-generation situational awareness solution to ensure decision superiority

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales has been selected by NATO to deliver phas...

08/04/2025

U.S. Air Force awards NSPA F-16 Helmet Mounted Display contract for Thales Scorpion HMD

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales Thales subsidiary, Thales Defense &...

08/04/2025

Thales revolutionizes Inflight Entertainment (IFE) with 360Stream Live TV and innovative Near-Live highlights

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales revolutionizes inflight TV with 360Stream...

07/04/2025

Thales signs a contract to deliver the Ground Master 200 MM/C Multi Mission Compact radar to Sweden

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (F r...

07/04/2025

Thales announces next-generation Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for resilient navigation

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales is a global leader in inertial navigation...

03/04/2025

Thales to recruit 8,000 people in 2025 and accelerate its 'Learning company' programme

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, a global leader in advanced technologies...

02/04/2025

Thales Alenia Space wins 51 million contract to extend EGNOS service life

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Strengthening Europe's critical navigation infrastructure thanks to EGNOS satellite-based augmentation system Cannes, April ...

01/04/2025

DSTA and Thales Announce AI-Driven Co-Lab to Strengthen Singapore's Defence Systems

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and...

31/03/2025

Thales unveils its PANORAMIC quad-tube night vision goggle

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Presented for the first time at SOFINS1, PANORAMIC is a lightweight, compact night vision goggle equipped with four light intens...

31/03/2025

Thales to provide hybrid networking kits for French Army vehicles

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has awarded Thales a contract to provide hybrid networking kits for French Army vehi...

26/03/2025

Thales reorganises its support capabilities to enhance mission readiness of the French Army in high-intensity conflicts

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The French defence ministry's integrated str...

21/03/2025

Thales celebrates opening of new avionics MRO centre in Gurugram, India

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The new Thales MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) facility in Gurugram is strategically located near the Delhi airport in Indi...

20/03/2025

Thales-led consortium EISNET to boost European air defence

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Under the European Defence Fund (EDF), Thales is to coordinate the EISNET (European Interactive Sensor-Based Dynamic Defence Net...

19/03/2025

Thales to provide high-performance sonar suite for future Orka-class submarines in the Netherlands

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Under an agreement signed by Thales and Naval Gr...

17/03/2025

Thales and Malaysia Airlines Sign Avionics Component Availability and Repair Agreement for A330neo Aircraft

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales and Malaysia Airlines have signed a long-...

14/03/2025

Thales Delivers the World's First Autonomous Mine Hunting System to the Royal Navy

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales has reached a historic milestone by deliv...

13/03/2025

T-Mobile, Thales and SIMPL ease IoT deployments with a flexible and secure connectivity solution

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...

12/03/2025

Moonlight: Thales Alenia Space to develop the space segment of the navigation system orbiting around the Moon

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Moonlight: ESA program to create a satellite con...

12/03/2025

Thales among the world's top 100 most innovative companies for the 12th year, according to Clarivate

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn In 2025, Thales ranks among the top 0.01% of the...

11/03/2025

Thales delivers the Dual Travelling Wave Tubes for the ASTRA 1Q satellite built by Thales Alenia Space

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales today announced that it has delivered the...

10/03/2025

Thales and SES demonstrate compatibility of secure anti-jamming waveforms with MEO satellites

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thaless Modem21 system typically equips sovereig...

10/03/2025

SKY Perfect JSAT Selects Thales Alenia Space to build JSAT-32 Communications Satellite

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tokyo / Cannes, March 10 2025 - Asia's large...

06/03/2025

CSO-3 optical Earth-observation satellite successfully launched

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The CSO system comprises three defense and security satellites This trio has two distinct missions: reconnaissance for CSO-1 an...

06/03/2025

EOLO chooses Thales to expand high-speed Internet access in Italy

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn EOLO partners with Thales to bring ultrafast broadband to underserved Italian communities. Thales eSIM solution enables seamle...

05/03/2025

Ericsson, Qualcomm and Thales Alenia Space reach milestone in space-based connectivity

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and Thale...

04/03/2025

Thales reports its 2024 full-year results

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Order intake: 25.3 billion, up 9% ( 6% on an organic basis1) Sales: 20.6 billion, up 11.7% ( 8.3% on an organic basis) Adjus...

03/03/2025

SHIFT partners with Thales to bring eSIM capability to sustainable smartphones

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn SHIFT, the German pioneer in sustainable and ethical handset manufacturing, has partnered with Thales, a global leader in advanc...

03/03/2025

EDGE and Thales strengthen strategic cooperation with MoU for advanced radio and IFF solutions

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn On the occasion of IDEX-NAVDEX 2025, EARTH, an e...

03/03/2025

Thales to equip U.S. Air Force F16 with Helmet Mounted Display

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales subsidiary, Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI), has been awarded a contract for Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)...

28/02/2025

European Consortium Launches PQC4eMRTD Project to Enhance Security of Electronic Passports in the Quantum Era

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Munich, Germany - February 28, 2025 - A signific...

27/02/2025

Thales partners with Cubic to launch next-generation eSIM solutions for connected vehicles

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cubic, a leading global provider of software-def...

27/02/2025

Thales signs major contract with Stephanix for remote management of medical equipment

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, a world leader in cybersecurity for crit...

25/02/2025

Thales launches cortAIx in the UK with 200 experts in AI for critical systems

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales marks a new major milestone in its global acceleration in trusted AI with the launch of cortAIx in the UK to address defe...

24/02/2025

Thales and Qatar Airways Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Develop Local Service Hub in Doha

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, a global technology leader in the defenc...

20/02/2025

Thales, Milrem Robotics, and EM&E Group sign a MoU for strategic cooperation in the United Arab Emirates

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn February 18, 2025 - Abu Dhabi, UAE: Milrem Robot...

18/02/2025

Thales and Sopra Steria announce strategic partnership enabling digital transformation of European Air Traffic Management

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales and Sopra Steria form a strategic partner...

18/02/2025

Arizona Department of Public Safety partners with Thales for enhanced security of license and identity credentials

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn This new contract covers over 300,000 cards annu...

14/02/2025

Thales introduces new FIDO Key Lifecycle Management solution to enable secure authentication at scale

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn New solution allows Enterprises to accelerate an...