Citation: Karakilic, E.; Gunaltili, E.; Ekici, S.; Dalkiran, A.; Balli, O.; Karakoc, T.H. A Comparative Study between Paper and Paperless Aircraft Maintenance: A Case Study. Sustainability 2023, 15, 15150. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su152015150 Academic Editor: Lynnette Dray Received: 12 October 2023 Revised: 18 October 2023 Accepted: 19 October 2023 Published: 23 October 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article A Comparative Study between Paper and Paperless Aircraft Maintenance: A Case Study Elif Karakilic 1 , Enes Gunaltili 2 , Selcuk Ekici 3,4, * , Alper Dalkiran 5 , Ozgur Balli 6 and Tahir Hikmet Karakoc 1,7 1 Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Eski¸ sehir Technical University, Eski¸ sehir 26555, Turkey; ekarakilic26@gmail.com (E.K.); hikmetkarakoc@gmail.com (T.H.K.) 2 Department of Astronautical Engineering, Konya Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya 42090, Turkey; enesgunaltili@gmail.com 3 Department of Aviation, I˘ gdır University, I˘ gdır 76000, Turkey 4 School of Civil Aviation, Nisantasi University, Istanbul 25370, Turkey 5 School of Aviation Management, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta 32260, Turkey; alperdalkiran@sdu.edu.tr 6 TAI, TUSAS (Turkish Aerospace Industries), Ankara 26220, Turkey; balli07balli@yahoo.com 7 Information Technology Research and Application Center, Istanbul Ticaret University, Istanbul 34445, Turkey * Correspondence: selcukekici@gmail.com Abstract: The rapid growth of airlines over the last period has led to the development of the aviation industry, resulting in increased requirements for ancillary services. Nowadays, the demand for the use of paper-based documents is increasing day by day as airlines encourage passengers to use more ancillary products. One of the most important issues in the aviation industry is flight safety. The procedures and instructions required for all aviation operations are organized in accordance with the regulations and printed on paper in accordance with the demands. For this reason, since it is mandatory to keep all aircraft maintenance, repair, and operation records on printed paper and to keep them for a certain period of time, aircraft fly with almost their entire weight on paper. Considering the global hazards in the world, although the aviation sector is the least environmentally damaging of all transportation sectors, new solutions have been sought to make aviation operations less harmful to the environment, minimize errors and risks, allow for faster communication, and be safer and more sustainable. In order to meet the demands, studies on reducing the use of paper have been brought to the agenda. In this study, after a literature review, real data from a maintenance, repair, and overhaul organization are used to suggest digital conveniences that can save costs, increase productivity, save space, facilitate documentation and information sharing, keep personal information more secure, and help the environment through paperless living. Keywords: aviation operations; digital transformation in aviation; paperless aviation; paperless aircraft maintenance; sustainability in aircraft maintenance 1. Introduction It is thought that paper was first produced around 105 BC by Cai Lun by crushing softened tree bark, hemp waste, old rags, and fishing nets until they became soft and pulpy, and then mixing the resulting pulp with water to make wood pulp. The paper has been used in many fields from the past to the present, ranging from industry to the aviation sector [1–3]. Aircraft operations and maintenance are heavily regulated and meticulously planned to ensure safety [4]. Regulations require a large amount of paperwork as they are followed by legal processes. Paperwork is handled by multiple stakeholders, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) [5], leaseholders [6], Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Organizations (MROs) [7], suppliers, and airlines [8]. It is imperative for each party involved to efficiently handle their transactions and data in accordance with the regu- lations set forth by the registration authority. The existing process for aircraft operations Sustainability 2023, 15, 15150. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015150 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability