Sustainable Spare Parts Management in the Aviation Maintenance Industry: A Systematic Literature Review on Forecasting Approaches

Abstract

In the aviation sector, spare parts management plays a critical role in mitigating aircraft downtime caused by stockouts while supporting the efficient and sustainable use of resources in maintenance operations. It involves a range of inventory control methodologies combined with spare parts demand forecasting, which is particularly challenging due to the stochastic nature of component failures. Beyond ensuring operational readiness, effective spare parts management can contribute to sustainability by reducing excess inventory, minimizing waste from obsolete components, and optimizing storage and transportation requirements within Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) systems. Accurate demand forecasting has the potential to enhance both supply chain resilience and environmental performance, as it may contribute to the mitigation of overproduction, stockouts, unnecessary and emergency transportation, and resource waste. This study provides a systematic review of recent approaches to spare parts forecasting and infers their contribution to sustainability in the aviation industry. A systematic review was conducted, including the identification, screening, and analysis of studies published between 2010 and 2025. The review of 15 selected studies highlights the growing relevance of aligning demand forecasting with spare parts management, enabling more efficient inventory decisions that improve aircraft availability while supporting resource efficiency and sustainability objectives in MRO operations. This study consolidates current knowledge on sustainable spare parts management practices in aviation and identifies key areas for future research in aviation supply chains.