Toward Smart Skies: Reviewing the State of the Art and Challenges for Intelligent Air Transportation Systems (IATS)

Given an extensive set of challenges, the aviation industry is required to undergo a transformation into a connected, efficient and sustainable ecosystem. This transformation is mainly supported by the development of intelligent transportation system (ITS) techniques, such as leveraging data analytics / artificial intelligence, embracing digital technologies, and developing / integrating autonomous aerial vehicles. In order for this transformation to succeed, it is crucial for professionals and researchers to collectively comprehend the research innovations and challenges shaping the industry. Given the tremendous growth of the number of research studies, this manuscript presents a comprehensive review of the current state of the art in Intelligent Air Transportation Systems (IATS). Based on a dissection of studies published in the IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, the premier outlet on the subject, we have performed a data-driven clustering of papers leading to a set of the following four key themes documented in the literature: air traffic management, aerial communication networks, navigation / surveillance, and UAV-related applications. For each theme, we do not only summarize the state-of-the-art, but also hint at the challenges and interesting directions for future work. Our review aims to contribute to the ongoing dialogue among professionals and researchers working on the intersection of air transportation, information technology, and computational intelligence.