Sustainable aviation research, 1990–2025: A scopus-based bibliometric and network mapping

This study maps the sustainable aviation literature between 1990 and 2025 through bibliometric and network analysis of 2,308 articles indexed in Scopus. Using VOSviewer, co-authorship, co-keyword, and collaboration networks were created based on author, institution, country, and author keywords; production dynamics were examined by year. Despite a growing body of bibliometric studies on aviation sustainability and SAF, existing mappings are often limited to narrower time windows, specific sub-themes (e.g., SAFonly), or management/policy-only perspectives; therefore, a long-horizon (1990–2025) science-mapping study is needed to integrate thematic structures with collaboration dynamics across the full sustainable aviation research landscape. Findings show a marked acceleration after 2019 and 540 publications recorded for 2025 (as of September 2025); the 2024–2025 counts should be interpreted with caution due to potential Scopus indexing delays and the incompleteness of the ongoing year. The thematic core focuses on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and production processes (bio-jet, hydro deoxygenation, catalysis), life-cycle assessment and exergy-based emission reduction, hydrogen/electrification, policy–decarbonization tools, airport/airline operations, and artificial intelligence applications. In terms of collaboration, the US (474 articles, 8,523 citations), the UK (235, 7,232), and China (359, 3,627) are at the center of the network; Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are strong regional nodes, while Türkiye (124, 2,213) is an emerging actor. At the institutional level, DLR, PNNL, and Washington State University stand out, while Eskisehir Technical University serves as a regional bridge. Joshua S. Heyne and Zhibin Yang are central in the author network. In conclusion, the field is growing rapidly; short-term priorities include the commercial-scale deployment of SAF, the technical-economic maturation of electric/hydrogen propulsion systems, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of regulatory and market mechanisms that will accelerate this transformation.