The short answer is ‘yes’. But the opportunities are different depending on where in the aviation landscape you sit.
Let’s begin with a definition of blockchain as I believe it’s a misunderstood term. Many people associate cryptocurrency with blockchain, and although there is a correlation, blockchain can be used without any cryptocurrency aspect associated with it. At the simplest level, blockchain is essentially a digital ledger that records transactions in a secure, transparent, and decentralised way. It is decentralised and immutable, which means it would be very difficult to tamper with.
Aviation opportunities
The aviation blockchain market is expected to increase from USD 1.16 billion in 2025 to USD 5.53 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 18.93% throughout the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.1
There are several applications for blockchain technology in the aviation industry – passenger identity management, cargo & baggage tracking, flight & crew data management, frequent flyer programmes, smart contracts, travel insurance, e-ticketing & ticket tokenisation, aircraft refueling, airline revenue sharing, leasing, supply chain management, parts tracking, parts health monitoring, inventory management, aircraft maintenance and more. Today the end-users of this sector consist of airports, airlines, MRO, manufacturers and lessors.
Some of the key requirements blockchain brings solutions for within the aviation landscape include:
- transparency, efficiency, and security in operations
- secure real-time data, sharing amongst stakeholders and tamper-proof record-keeping
- the aviation industry’s digital transformation combined with efforts to reduce operational costs and enhance passenger experiences
- transparency and traceability across the aviation supply chain
- heightened cybersecurity.
What about ATM?
Air Traffic Management isn’t listed in the categories above. Is there a good reason for this or just that the overall aviation industry reporting on this topic isn’t going to that level? If you dig deeper, there are activities related to ATM.
ADS-B is a requirement for safety within any ATM solution. But we’ve all heard about the risks of spoofing and interference with ADS-B technology resulting in incorrect aircraft locations. In 2024, Decent Cybersecurity, specialising in providing secure communication solutions for space mission operations and air and drone traffic management put forth the idea of using blockchain to secure ADS-B. They propose that blockchain could solve these problems by enhanced data integrity, keeping possible cyberattacks from spreading throughout a network, controlled and transparent data sharing, and increased operational efficiency through automation of data verification.
Securing autonmous air traffic – ATM/UTM integration
A team of researchers in the UK developed a paper in late 2023 suggesting opportunities for blockchain to play a role in ATM directly and also in the safe integration of autonomous UTM flight. They also incorporated artificial intelligence into the discussion, and this was long before AI was really increasing in daily usage. The main topics the paper wanted to address were related to security of data/cybersecurity, ease of data-sharing, and the enablement of real-time deconfliction based on this data. This summary over-simplifies the discussion in the research. Although all of these topics are still valid, today there are tools in place to begin address these concerns along the lines of service-oriented architectures (SoA). What’s important to note is that these considerations were already being proposed two years ago.
Industry initiatives
As part of the Horizon 2020 European Commission program there was a project launched in 2020, and completed in 2022 called AICHAIN. This project was to reasearch a platform for privacy-preserving “Federated Machine Learning using Blockchain to enable Operational Improvements in ATM”.
The project set out to answer three questions:
- Is the AICHAIN Solution feasible? The answer was yes. It seemed possible to exploit information in a federated way while fully preserving privacy, trust, cybersecurity, and scalability. The AICHAIN prototype demonstrated feasibility in simplified but realistic operational conditions. The technological solution could potentially solve the challenges identified and linked to the ‘data sharing’ concept.
- Does the AICHAIN solution bring operational value to the ATM? Again the answer was yes. This question focused more on the use of machine learning and the take away was that further research is required to quantify more accurately the actual potential of AICHAIN in terms of ATM performance and support to automation.
- How can the data owners be encouraged to collaborate in the AICHAIN concept? A transparent and trustable system of tokens, supported by blockchain and designed using the tokenomics principles.
I’m wondering if many readers have heard of this project? In my opinion, where this concept falters is with item 3. Introducing the use of tokens into the world of ATM is so far from the way things work today that it would face huge up-hill challenges. Maybe this is why we don’t see any further steps from this research.
In 2024, an IEEE paper was published entitled “ATMChain: Blockchain-Based Security Architecture for Air Traffic Management in Future”. The goal of this paper was to consider the use of blockchain to maintain security and data-availability within the ATM ecosystem. This is another research effort that seems to not have progressed. I wonder if SWIM and SoA had already leap-frogged this concept in today’s ANSP infrastructures?
Is UTM a better fit?
It seems that maybe Unifly has found a fit for blockchain. Late last year, the company announced Certiflight, a blockchain-backed UTM solution entering validation steps. Launched in November 2022, Certiflight leverages blockchain, European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (EGNSS), and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to enhance the safety and accountability of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and General Aviation (GA) flights. Earlier this year, there were live demonstrations of the solution in the port of Port of Antwerp-Bruges (PoAB).
Certiflight technology leverages advanced EGNSS algorithms and blockchain to guarantee the authenticity and integrity of flight data. This tamper-proof, legally valid system offers transparency and accountability, preventing data manipulation and providing reliable records.
The Port Surveillance demonstration is part of Certiflight’s broader validation campaign, which includes tests across Belgium, Italy, and the Czech Republic. These demonstrations showcase the system’s interoperability with multiple U-space service providers, demonstrating its ability to meet diverse operational needs globally.
“The Certiflight demonstration at the PoAB is a pivotal moment for the project. It exemplifies how blockchain-backed UTM solutions can enhance safety, transparency, and accountability in complex environments. We’re proud to contribute to the future of autonomous aviation,” shared Andres van swalm, CEO at Unifly.
Adding some perspective
It seems clear that the opportunity lies within the UTM space. But why? Now this is just my perspective, but it is coming from not only a background in ATM/UTM, but also working with a blockchain-based startup in a completely different industry. Regardless of the industry, this technology is misunderstood. People think of cryptocurrency and tokens. This is scary and unstable to those who aren’t a part of this world. Blockchain made a stake in the world of finance by providing secure and transparent transactions. Although this hugely advanced the credibility of blockchain, this is a long way from ATM.
We’re simply not ready in ATM. Things have been done the same way for years and the new technologies we see entering this space are more of an evolution of the existing vs a revolution or disruptive technology. If ATM organisations were using blockchain in other capacities, then maybe. But they aren’t.
Enter UTM. Drones are new, drones are all about new technology and innovation. Yes, they need to consider all of the lessons learned from the world of ATM, but they have the freedom to innovate and experiment. Blockchain can absolutely play a role in secure data-sharing, but the methodology for implementation needs to be developed further. Unifly seems to have taken a big step forward here and hopefully this can expand into other airspace management topics. Let’s see….
1 https://www.towardsautomotive.com/insights/aviation-blockchain-market-sizing
