Sustainability in the Skies: A Tri-Dimensional Performance Evaluation of Global Airlines with Hybrid MCDM Methods

This study proposes a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework that combines entropy and TOPSIS to evaluate the corporate sustainability performance of ten global airlines, utilising 22 GRI-based economic, environmental, and social criteria. Using 2020 data, the analysis identifies China Southern, China Eastern, and American Airlines as top performers, while Qatar Airways ranks lowest due to weak social indicators. Key drivers include available seat kilometres, cargo volume, and water use, while gender metrics and fleet age contribute less. The findings provide data-driven insights for sustainable aviation strategies, bridging theoretical and empirical approaches in the sustainability performance literature.