Many collective phenomena such as epidemic spreading and cascading failures in socioeconomic systems on networks are caused by perturbations of the dynamics. How perturbations propagate through networks, impact and disrupt their functions may depend on the network, the type and location of the perturbation as well as the spreading dynamics. Previous work has analyzed the retardation effects of the nodes along the propagation paths, suggesting a few transient propagation "scaling” regimes as a function of the nodes’ degree, but regardless of motifs such as triangles. Yet, empirical networks consist of motifs enabling the proper functioning of the system. Here, we show that basic motifs along the propagation path jointly determine the previously proposed scaling regimes of distance-limited propagation and degree-limited propagation, or even cease their existence. Our results suggest a radical departure from these scaling regimes and provide a deeper understanding of the interplay of self-dynamics, interaction dynamics, and topological properties.

Air travel has been one of the hardest hit industries of COVID-19, with many flight cancellations and airport closures as a consequence. By analysing structural characteristics of the Official Aviation Guide flight data, we show that this resulted in an increased average distance between airports, and in an increased number of long-range routes. Based on our study of network robustness, we uncover that this disruption is consistent with the impact of a mixture of targeted and random global attack on the worldwide air transportation network. By considering the individual functional evolution of airports, we identify anomalous airports with high centrality but low degree, which further enables us to reveal the underlying transitions among airport-specific representations in terms of both geographical and geopolitical factors. During the evolution of the air transportation network, we also observe how the network attempted to cope by shifting centralities between different airports around the world. Since these shifts are not aligned with optimal strategies for minimizing delays and disconnects, we conclude that they are consistent with politics trumping science from the viewpoint of epidemic containment and transport.