Digital Twin–Enabled Operational Resilience in Airlines: A Conceptual Model

Airline operations form a tightly coupled socio-technical system that is prone to cascading disruption from weather, labour constraints, geopolitical shocks, and public health events. Building operational resilience is therefore a strategic necessity. This paper proposes a conceptual model that integrates Digital Twin (DT) technology, defined here as a virtual, data-driven representation of airline operational processes, within a four-phase resilience framework: anticipation, absorption, adaptation, and recovery. Drawing on a structured narrative review of recent scholarly and industry sources, the model specifies a layered architecture spanning core operational systems, IoT-enabled data capture, a simulation and analytics DT platform, and resilience-enabling decision mechanisms. By aligning predictive analytics, scenario testing, and dynamic optimisation with the four phases, the framework supports more proactive disruption management. It also frames DT use beyond siloed asset applications by specifying enterprise-level integration points and governance requirements within airline operations. The paper outlines testable propositions and indicative operational metrics (e.g., reactionary delay minutes, recovery time) to guide future empirical validation through simulation and applied case studies.