As one of the most important transportations in the world, air transportation has become the mainstream means of transport for the public. With the population increase and technology improvement, the air transportation industry continues attracting more target customers by upgrading their facilities and services. New technologies like self-boarding, online check-in, biometric systems and RFID are applied in the transportation process to serve passengers and support industry operation. Besides, as the impacts brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry is facing huge loss, which also brings a negative impact on the air transportation development. Thus, in this scenario, air transportation needs to take some actions to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic and help the industry bounce back. Since Industry 4.0, digitalization and digital technology have been gradually accepted by different industries and sectors; meanwhile more automatic equipment and digital systems are developed to help air transportation improve and enhance its performance. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more research effort on helping air transportation to embrace an effective digital transformation.

This special issue mainly focuses on investigating the advanced technologies and applications in the transportation sector, especially in air transportation. Theoretical analysis, empirical analysis, quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis can be adopted to clarify the role of digitalization in air transportation and to identify the future trend of digital transformation. On the one hand, current digital models and digital tools in air transportation can be investigated and discussed from the passenger perspective and the industry perspective respectively. With the purpose to reveal the ways and methods of industrial development under the digital influence, it covers different topics, including digital applications, digital impacts, digital opportunities and digital trends in the industry. On the other hand, current drawbacks and disadvantages in air transportation can be identified, and relevant digital opportunities can be proposed to provide the corresponding solutions to help air transportation perform better.