Hydrogen is one of the most promising power sources for meeting the aviation sector’s long-term decarbonization goals. Although on-board hydrogen systems, namely, fuel cells, are extensively researched, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) perspective remains mostly unaddressed. This paper analyzes fuel cells from an MRO standpoint, based on a literature review and comparison with the automotive sector. It also examines how well the business models and key resources of MRO providers are currently suited to provide future MRO services. It is shown that fuel cells require extensive MRO activities and that these are needed to meet the aviation sector’s requirements for price, safety and, especially, durability. To some extent, experience from the automotive sector can be built upon, particularly with respect to facility requirements and qualification of personnel. Yet, MRO providers’ existing resources only partially allow them to provide these services. MRO providers’ underlying business models must adapt to the implementation of fuel cells in the aviation sector. MRO providers and services should, therefore, be considered and act as enablers for the introduction of fuel cells in the aviation industry.

With growing environmental awareness and the resulting pressure on aviation, ecological impact assessments are becoming increasingly important. Life cycle assessment has been widely used in the literature as a tool to assess the environmental impact of aircraft. However, due to the complexity of the method itself and the long lifespans of aircraft, most studies so far have made strong simplifications, especially concerning the operational phase. Using a combined discrete-event simulation framework, this paper aims to ecologically assess the individual life cycle phases of an aircraft. The method will be demonstrated in a case study of an A320 and subsequently compared with findings from the literature. Despite the significant environmental impact of flight operations, which covers almost 99.8% of the entire life cycle of the aircraft, a detailed consideration of all life cycle phases is essential to serve as a reference for the ecological assessment of novel aircraft concepts. The presented assessment method thus enables a holistic analysis at an early stage of the design process and supports the decision-making for new technologies and operational changes.

Globally interconnecting machines, processes, and resources driven by exploring and advancing new technologies defined Industry 4.0 (I4.0), resulting in, e.g., Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS). The aircraft industry particularly struggled with transforming production and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) processes, replacing humans with machines and automating as well as digitalizing significant parts of their value- and non-value-adding activities. However, in the face of current social and environmental challenges, future industries will need to shift from purely technology-driven to value-driven, working sustainably with resources, including human capital. Together, these approaches constitute the idea of Industry 5.0 (I5.0). On the one hand, the aviation industry faces the challenge that even I4.0 concepts and technologies are not yet fully exploited or implemented. On the other hand, due to the specific characteristics of aircraft production and MRO as well as the environmental impact of the product, a tremendous potential arises regarding placing human well-being back into the center of adding value and decreasing environmental footprint while building an industry that is resilient and fortified against disruptions of this era. In line with the I5.0 terminology, in this work, we outline the challenges and opportunities of integrating I5.0 principles into the aircraft production and MRO industries, focusing specifically on the scope of selected use cases.