REVIEW article
Front. Future Transp.
Sec. Freight Transport and Logistics
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ffutr.2025.1630011
Industry 4.0 in Commercial Airlines: A Bibliometric Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- 2University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
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Commercial airlines face numerous challenges related to operational inefficiencies, poor maintenance practices, overcrowding of airports, supply chain complexity, lack of seamless customer experience, safety issues, data privacy and security issues, increasing fuel prices, and sustainability issues; however, Industry 4.0 technologies are widely regarded as a transformative solution, offering advanced tools and methodologies to address these challenges effectively. Despite the potential benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding their extent and impact on commercial airlines. The study examined the current state of research on Industry 4.0 in commercial airlines, identified the most significant research topics within this domain, and proposed a future research agenda. The bibliometric analysis was based on 5,113 documents extracted from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, covering 2,109 journals, with an annual publication growth rate of 9.34%. However, Africa's contribution remains minimal, accounting for less than 1% of the total research output analyzed, highlighting a significant research gap on the continent. The contemporary literature has focused on artificial intelligence, automation, big data analytics, the Internet of Things, and integrating Industry 4.0 technologies. The study was also used to identify the future research agenda of Industry 4.0 in commercial airlines, which includes human-centric approaches, integration of advanced technologies, cybersecurity, environmental sustainability, and ethical and legal implications.
Keywords: bibliometric analysis, Industry 4.0, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, Commercial airlines
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Omido, Luke, Mageto and Ombati. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nicholas Omido, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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