Conclusions and Future Research

Despite the substantial research advances experienced over the last two decades, the environmental impact of aviation is increasing steadily due to the rapid growth of air traffic and the comparatively slower pace of technological and operational innovations. To address the new challenges and to realise the commercial opportunities, the research community plays a fundamental role in developing new technological solutions and Sustainable Business Models ² (SBM), which must rely on effective partnerships between government agencies, industry and research organisations. While digital innovations advance and transform the Air-and-Space Transport (A&ST) sector, aircraft and spacecraft are becoming more “intelligent” and capable of autonomous decision making. The widespread adoption of digital technologies offers new exciting opportunities for an effective integration of emerging SBM and Digital Business Models in the A&ST sector. The multi-faceted and interconnected A&ST sector requires a more comprehensive and integrated system-of-systems approach that fully encompasses the domains of infrastructure, services and technologies.