Editorial and Ethics Policies
1. Authorship and Contributorship
2. Corresponding Author Responsibilities
3. Author Contributions Statement
4. Acknowledgements
5. Special Issues and Guest-Edited Collections
6. Editorial Responsibilities and Processes
7. Research and Publication Misconduct
8. Misconduct Allegations and Investigations
9. Peer Review Process
10. Editorial Independence
11. Confidentiality
12. Copyright and Licensing
13. Open Access Policy
14. Originality, Duplicate and Redundant Publication
15. Plagiarism and Text Recycling
16. Fabrication of Data
17. Falsification and Manipulation of Data, Images, and Figures
18. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies
19. Research Data and Data Availability
20. Digital Preservation and Archiving
21. Self-Archiving
22. Conflict of Interest
23. Financial Support and Funding Disclosure
24. Post-Publication Discussions and Concerns
25. Appeals and Complaints
26. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
27. Advertising, Marketing, and Sponsorship
28. Integrity of the Scholarly Record and Post-Publication Actions
29. Disclaimer
Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies is committed to maintaining high standards of scholarly integrity, editorial independence, transparency, and responsible research and publication. The Journal follows recognized publication-ethics principles and considers relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other established standards of scholarly publishing.
These policies apply to authors, reviewers, editors, Guest Editors, Editorial Board members, and all other individuals involved in manuscript submission, review, publication, and post-publication activities. The Journal seeks to ensure that editorial decisions are fair, independent, evidence-based, and consistent with research-integrity principles.
1. Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship must accurately reflect substantial contributions to the research and manuscript. Authors should have contributed meaningfully to areas such as study conception or design; data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation; development of essential software or research tools; manuscript drafting; or critical intellectual revision.
All authors must have contributed sufficiently to take responsibility for their respective contributions and must approve the final manuscript.
The Journal does not prescribe a particular author order. Authors are responsible for determining authorship order fairly and transparently according to contributions and relevant disciplinary practices. For collaborative, multi-institutional, or multi-regional studies, authorship should be agreed upon transparently among contributors.
Individuals who contributed meaningfully but do not meet authorship requirements should be acknowledged, with their permission.
Submission confirms that all listed authors have approved the manuscript, agreed to the author order, and consented to its submission.
Any addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors after submission must be supported by a clear explanation and approved by all affected authors. The Journal may require written confirmation from all authors. Changes after acceptance will normally be considered only in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.
The Journal does not adjudicate authorship disputes. Where authors cannot resolve a genuine dispute, the matter may be referred to the relevant institution or appropriate authority, and editorial consideration or publication may be suspended until the issue is resolved.
2. Corresponding Author Responsibilities
For multi-author manuscripts, at least one author must be designated as the corresponding author. The corresponding author serves as the principal contact with the Journal and coordinates communication among co-authors.
The corresponding author must ensure that all eligible authors are included, that the author order has been agreed upon, and that all authors have approved the manuscript before submission.
After acceptance, the corresponding author coordinates proofs, corrections, and publication matters and must carefully check author names, affiliations, contact details, text, figures, tables, and other publication information before publication.
Being the corresponding author does not imply greater seniority or contribution. After publication, the corresponding author will normally serve as the primary contact for article-related queries.
3. Author Contributions Statement
Multi-author manuscripts must include an Author Contributions Statement accurately describing each author's principal contributions.
Depending on the research, contributions may include conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, validation, software, resources, supervision, project administration, visualization, writing, and review and editing.
Contribution statements must neither improperly confer authorship nor conceal the contributions of individuals who qualify for authorship.
4. Acknowledgements
The Acknowledgements section may recognize individuals or organizations that contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet authorship criteria. Examples include limited technical, administrative, language, editorial, or other assistance.
Permission should be obtained before naming individuals. Those who meet authorship requirements should not be acknowledged in place of authorship.
Funding and financial support must be reported separately in the appropriate statement at the end of the manuscript.
5. Special Issues and Guest-Edited Collections
The Journal may publish Special Issues, Thematic Issues, or Guest-Edited Collections addressing significant or emerging topics within the scope of Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies
Guest Editors may be appointed from the Editorial Board or selected from recognized experts. Their responsibilities may include developing the theme, soliciting submissions, coordinating peer review, and preparing an introductory Editorial.
All Special Issue submissions are subject to the same editorial assessment, peer-review, research-integrity, and publication-ethics standards as regular submissions. Inclusion in a Special Issue does not guarantee acceptance.
Special Issues are open to relevant submissions from researchers worldwide. Guest Editors' own submissions must undergo independent external peer review.
Guest Editors must comply with Journal policies and disclose and manage competing interests. They must not participate in decisions involving manuscripts with which they have a conflict. The Editor-in-Chief and in-house editorial team retain ultimate responsibility for editorial standards and may assume responsibility for any part of a Special Issue when necessary to protect editorial independence, research integrity, or publication quality.
6. Editorial Responsibilities and Processes
Editors must ensure that manuscripts are assessed fairly, confidentially, and according to the Journal's editorial and ethical standards.
Editors should select suitably qualified reviewers, identify and manage conflicts of interest, maintain confidentiality, and ensure objective peer review.
Editors may seek advice from Editorial Board members or independent experts on complex scientific, ethical, or procedural matters. Where necessary, the Editor-in-Chief may seek external advice or consult relevant COPE guidance.
7. Research and Publication Misconduct
The Journal takes research and publication misconduct seriously. Misconduct may include, but is not limited to:
fabrication or falsification;
plagiarism and inappropriate text recycling;
inappropriate image manipulation;
duplicate or redundant publication;
inappropriate authorship;
citation or peer-review manipulation;
undisclosed competing interests;
unethical research practices;
misuse of confidential information; and
other conduct that materially compromises the scholarly record.
The Journal distinguishes deliberate or reckless misconduct from honest errors and legitimate differences in interpretation. Not every error or similarity constitutes misconduct. Concerns will be assessed according to the available evidence, seriousness, and reliability of the information.
8. Misconduct Allegations and Investigations
Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies handles misconduct allegations through a fair, confidential, proportionate, and evidence-based process. Concerns may arise before publication, during peer review, after acceptance, or after publication.
A credible concern will receive an initial editorial assessment. The Journal may contact authors and request explanations, original data, research records, supporting documents, or other evidence.
If the matter cannot be satisfactorily resolved, the Journal may conduct further editorial inquiry or refer it to the relevant institution, employer, funder, regulator, or research-integrity authority. Institutions may be best placed to investigate research-conduct concerns because they can access institutional records, research data, participant information, and other evidence unavailable to the Journal.
Authors will normally have an opportunity to respond. However, immediate protective action may be taken where necessary to protect the peer-review process or scholarly record.
Investigations will be conducted confidentially as far as reasonably possible, with information shared only with those who have a legitimate need to know and subject to applicable legal and ethical requirements.
An allegation will not be treated as an established finding until sufficient evidence has been assessed. Where an external investigation occurs, its findings may inform the Journal's editorial action.
Possible outcomes include manuscript rejection, withdrawal of acceptance, correction or clarification, Editor's Note, Editorial Expression of Concern, retraction, exceptional article removal, or notification of an appropriate authority.
9. Peer Review Process
The Journal uses a double-blind peer-review process, in which authors and reviewers are normally concealed from one another.
Manuscripts passing initial editorial assessment and considered suitable for review will normally be evaluated by at least two independent reviewers selected according to expertise, experience, availability, and absence of inappropriate conflicts of interest.
Reviews should be objective, constructive, and evidence-based and should address significant methodological, ethical, interpretive, and presentation issues while distinguishing essential revisions from discretionary suggestions.
Reviewers are normally requested to submit reports within two weeks; extensions may be granted when requested in advance.
Further expectations are provided in the Journal's Guidelines for Reviewers.
10. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance, ethical compliance, and contribution to the field.
Editors must exercise independent professional judgment and must not allow commercial, financial, institutional, personal, political, or other inappropriate considerations to influence decisions.
The handling editor is responsible for the editorial decision, taking peer-review reports and Journal policies into account. Editors must recuse themselves where a conflict of interest exists. The Editor-in-Chief may be consulted where appropriate but should not improperly influence the independent judgment of the handling editor.
11. Confidentiality
Manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and other materials related to the editorial process are confidential.
Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose manuscript information to unauthorized persons or use unpublished ideas, methods, data, or findings for personal or professional advantage.
Reviewers must not copy, distribute, publicly discuss, or otherwise use manuscript content without authorization. If a reviewer wishes to consult another qualified person, prior permission should be obtained from the handling editor, and the consultant must observe the same confidentiality requirements.
Confidentiality obligations continue after peer review and, where applicable, after publication.
12. Copyright and Licensing
Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. This permits sharing, copying, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction for non-commercial purposes, provided appropriate attribution is given to the authors, source, Journal, publisher, article, and DOI. Commercial reuse requires prior written permission from the copyright holder, i.e., the authors.
Authors retain copyright of their work published by Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies By publishing, authors grant the Journal and Open Horizon Global a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to publish, reproduce, distribute, archive, preserve, index, and promote the article in print, electronic, and other media and to identify the Journal as the original publisher.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that submissions do not infringe third-party copyright, intellectual property, privacy, or other legal rights.
Permission and appropriate attribution must be obtained for previously published figures, tables, images, substantial text, or other protected material where required.
13. Open Access Policy
The Journal follows an open-access publishing model, making published articles freely available online without subscription or institutional-login requirements.
Open access supports broad dissemination, accessibility, reuse, and international exchange of scholarly knowledge. Published articles remain subject to the applicable copyright and licensing provisions.
14. Originality, Duplicate and Redundant Publication
Manuscripts submitted to Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere.
Authors must not submit the same or substantially overlapping manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals. Related manuscripts that have been published, accepted, or submitted elsewhere must be disclosed at submission.
Authors should avoid duplicate or redundant publication, including unnecessarily dividing one research project into multiple manuscripts solely to increase publication output.
Where multiple publications from one project are scientifically justified, related publications must be disclosed and the distinct contribution of each manuscript explained.
Meeting abstracts may precede full-article submission when relevant details are disclosed. Previously published material must be appropriately cited, attributed, and accompanied by permission where required.
15. Plagiarism and Text Recycling
Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, images, results, or other intellectual material as one's own without appropriate attribution. It may include substantial copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, misrepresentation of ideas, or unauthorized reuse of published material.
Manuscripts may be screened using recognized similarity-detection tools. A similarity score alone does not establish plagiarism; editors will consider the source, extent, nature, and context of the similarity.
Direct quotations must be clearly identified and referenced. Reuse of an author's own previously published material should also be disclosed and cited where appropriate. Substantial undisclosed text recycling may constitute redundant publication or other publication malpractice.
Where plagiarism is established after publication, the Journal may issue a correction, Editorial Expression of Concern, or retraction, depending on the circumstances.
16. Fabrication of Data
Fabrication is the deliberate invention of data, observations, participants, experiments, results, references, or other research information that did not exist.
Fabricated information must not be submitted. Where credible evidence is identified, the Journal may suspend or reject the manuscript, withdraw acceptance, refer the matter to an appropriate authority, or retract a published article.
17. Falsification and Manipulation of Data, Images, and Figures
Falsification involves deliberately altering, omitting, manipulating, or misrepresenting research materials, procedures, data, images, results, or analyses in a manner that creates a misleading representation.
Authors must not selectively add, remove, alter, duplicate, or obscure information in ways that misrepresent the underlying evidence.
Legitimate technical processing may be acceptable when it does not alter interpretation and follows accepted disciplinary practice. Material adjustments should be disclosed where appropriate.
The Journal may request original datasets, image files, laboratory records, analytical outputs, or supporting documentation where integrity concerns arise. Serious or deliberate falsification may result in rejection, withdrawal, retraction, and/or referral to an appropriate authority.
18. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies
The Journal recognizes the increasing use of AI-assisted technologies and will update this policy as relevant technologies and ethical standards develop.
Authors may use AI tools for limited purposes such as language, grammar, spelling, and readability improvement, provided they remain fully responsible for the submitted work. AI systems and large language models cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume authorship responsibilities or accountability. Authors must critically evaluate and verify AI-assisted content and remain responsible for its accuracy, originality, integrity, and attribution. Material use of AI in manuscript preparation should be disclosed where applicable.
AI must not be used to fabricate or misrepresent references, data, results, citations, quotations, or other scholarly information. Generative AI must not be used to create manuscript figures, images, or other visual materials under the Journal's current policy, except where such generation or analysis is itself the subject of the research. Permitted use must be transparently disclosed.
Editors and editorial staff may use AI tools only where appropriate and where confidentiality and editorial independence are protected. AI must not independently determine editorial decisions; acceptance, rejection, and revision decisions remain the responsibility of qualified human editors.
Confidential manuscripts, unpublished research, personal information, reviewer reports, and other protected material must not be entered into external AI systems where this could compromise confidentiality or data protection.
19. Research Data and Data Availability
Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data available whenever ethically, legally, and practically possible. Data sharing promotes transparency, reproducibility, verification, and further research.
Where appropriate, datasets should be deposited in recognized repositories with persistent identifiers such as DOIs or accession numbers.
When data cannot be publicly shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, contractual, confidentiality, or other legitimate restrictions, authors must explain the reason in the Data Availability Statement.
A Data Availability Statement is required whenever research data have been generated, collected, or analyzed. Appropriate statements may include:
“The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study are available in the [NAME] repository at [DOI/PERSISTENT LINK/DATA ACCESSION NUMBER].”
“The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study are not publicly available due to [REASON], but may be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request, subject to applicable restrictions.”
“The data generated and/or analyzed during this study are available as supplementary material accompanying this article.”
Authors must protect confidential, personal, and identifying information before sharing data.
20. Digital Preservation and Archiving
The Journal recognizes the importance of long-term access to published scholarly content. Published content is intended to be preserved through appropriate digital archiving arrangements, including LOCKSS through the PKP Preservation Network.
21. Self-Archiving
Authors may self-archive accepted manuscripts in appropriate institutional, disciplinary, or recognized repositories, provided the archived version identifies the Journal as the original publication source and links to the version of record and its DOI.
Repository versions must not be presented as separate publications or in a manner that compromises the integrity of the official publication record.
22. Conflict of Interest
Competing interests may influence, or appear to influence, scholarly judgment and editorial decision-making. Authors, reviewers, editors, Guest Editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose relationships or circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as relevant to their role.
For authors, these may include financial relationships, funding, employment, consultancy, patents or intellectual property, institutional affiliations, advisory positions, or significant personal or professional relationships.
Authors should disclose competing interests at submission and update disclosures if circumstances change. Where none exist, authors may state: “The authors declare that they have no competing interests.”
Editors and reviewers must disclose relevant competing interests and decline participation where a conflict could compromise or reasonably appear to compromise independent judgment.
A disclosed competing interest does not automatically prevent publication. The Journal may apply safeguards such as reassignment of editors or reviewers, additional independent review, or publication of a disclosure statement.
If an undisclosed competing interest is identified after publication, the Journal may issue a correction, clarification, or other proportionate action.
23. Financial Support and Funding Disclosure
Authors must disclose financial support for the research and/or publication.
Funding statements should identify the funding organization and, where applicable, grant or award numbers, as well as the funder's role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication. Examples include, “[Author initials] received research support from [Funder] [grant number], while [Author initials] received publication support from [Funder] [grant number]” or “This research and/or publication was supported by [Funder] [grant number].”
24. Post-Publication Discussions and Concerns
The Journal welcomes responsible post-publication discussion concerning the accuracy, methodology, interpretation, ethics, or integrity of published research.
Concerns may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other appropriate parties. Credible concerns will be assessed, and authors may be asked to provide clarification, original data, research records, or other evidence.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the Journal may issue a correction, Addendum, Editor's Note, Editorial Expression of Concern, or retraction, or refer the matter to an appropriate authority.
25. Appeals and Complaints
Authors may appeal an editorial decision where a significant procedural error, factual misunderstanding, or other substantive issue may have materially affected the decision. Appeals must clearly state the grounds and provide relevant supporting information rather than simply repeat previously considered arguments.
The Journal may seek advice from another editor or independent expert. An appeal may result in confirmation of the original decision, further assessment, or reconsideration where justified.
Complaints regarding editorial procedures, peer review, communication, delays, or other Journal operations may be submitted through the designated contact channel. Complaints will be handled fairly and confidentially as far as reasonably possible. Identified procedural weaknesses will be addressed through appropriate corrective action.
26. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Journal is committed to a respectful, inclusive, and equitable scholarly environment.
Editorial and peer-review decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance, research integrity, and ethical standards. The Journal does not discriminate based on personal characteristics, nationality, geographical location, institutional affiliation, academic status, or other characteristics unrelated to scholarly quality.
All participants must communicate professionally and avoid discriminatory, harassing, threatening, or exclusionary conduct.
The Journal encourages broad participation in its editorial and reviewer communities and seeks, where practicable, diversity in its Editorial Board and reviewer pool. Concerns regarding discrimination, inequitable treatment, harassment, or inappropriate conduct may be reported confidentially to the editorial office.
27. Advertising, Marketing, and Sponsorship
The Journal does not currently publish advertisements or accept sponsored content that could compromise editorial independence.
If such activities are introduced in the future, they will be managed separately from editorial decision-making and will not influence manuscript selection, review, acceptance, rejection, or publication. Commercial arrangements will be subject to appropriate transparency and ethical safeguards.
28. Integrity of the Scholarly Record and Post-Publication Actions
The Journal is committed to maintaining an accurate, reliable, and transparent scholarly record. Authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher share responsibility for identifying and addressing significant errors, ethical concerns, and integrity issues.
Depending on the circumstances, actions may include a correction, Addendum, Editor's Note, Editorial Expression of Concern, retraction, exceptional removal, or referral to an appropriate authority.
Post-publication actions will be documented and linked to the affected article so readers can understand the status and reliability of the published record.
28.1 Corrections and Amendments
Authors should promptly notify the Journal of significant errors in published work that affect accuracy, interpretation, or reliability.
An Author Correction may address an author-originated error, while a Publisher Correction may address an error introduced during editorial processing, production, or publication.
Where feasible, the corrected article will be linked to a clearly identified correction notice describing the error and amendment.
28.2 Editor's Notes and Editorial Expressions of Concern
An Editor's Note may inform readers that an inquiry or assessment concerning a published article has begun.
An Editorial Expression of Concern (EEoC) may be issued when substantial concerns exist regarding the reliability, integrity, or ethical basis of a published article but an investigation has not reached a final conclusion. An EEoC does not itself establish misconduct; it alerts readers to a significant unresolved concern.
Following an investigation, the Journal may publish a correction, Addendum, retraction, or other appropriate notice.
28.3 Addenda
An Addendum may be published when important information becomes available after publication and is necessary for proper understanding of the article. It does not replace the original article but is linked to it and becomes part of the permanent record.
28.4 Retraction
The Journal may retract an article when serious problems substantially affect its reliability, integrity, or ethical acceptability.
Grounds may include fabricated or falsified data, serious plagiarism, duplicate publication, major errors that invalidate conclusions, serious ethical violations, inappropriate authorship practices, or other circumstances materially undermining the published work.
A retracted article will normally remain part of the scholarly record but will be clearly marked “Retracted.” A retraction notice explaining the reason will be linked to the original article.
Retraction serves to correct the scholarly record and alert readers that the article, or specified aspects of it, should no longer be relied upon.
28.5 Article Removal
Article removal is reserved for exceptional circumstances where continued availability creates serious legal, ethical, privacy, public-health, or safety risks that cannot appropriately be addressed through correction or retraction.
Examples may include serious infringement of legal or privacy rights, unlawful content, or a valid order from a competent court or authority.
Where an article is removed, the Journal will normally retain its bibliographic metadata and publish a notice explaining the reason to the extent legally permissible.
29. Disclaimer
The Journal seeks to ensure that published content meets appropriate standards of academic quality, accuracy, research integrity, and ethical publishing. However, the views, interpretations, findings, methods, and conclusions expressed in published articles belong to the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Journal, its editors, Editorial Board members, or publisher.
Publication does not constitute endorsement by the Journal or publisher of any methods, products, services, organizations, or opinions discussed by authors. Readers should exercise their own professional and scholarly judgment when evaluating or applying published information.
Journal of Intelligent Aeronautical Systems and Sustainable Flight Technologies and its publisher are not responsible for loss, damage, or other consequences arising from the use, application, or interpretation of information contained in published articles.
