The Role of Blockchain Technology in Aviation Industry

The current systems used to manage data in aviation industries are mostly centralized and fall short of ensuring trusted data provenance, immutability, transparency, auditablility, and traceability features. Blockchain is an emerging and disruptive technology that has a high potential to provide trusted traceability, transparency, auditability, and immutability for stored and exchanged data and transactions in a manner that is decentralized and secure without the involvement of trusted third party. In this article, we explore the potential role of blockchain technology in the aviation industry. We highlight and discuss the key opportunities brought about by blockchain technology in various aviation applications, including digitizing crew certificates, securing customer loyalty programs, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations. We present recently reported case studies that have leveraged blockchain technology to provide aviation-centric services. Furthermore, we introduce a framework that leverages blockchain-based smart contracts to automate the key services in the aviation industry. Finally, we highlight open research issues and challenges.