A study of the U.S. domestic air transportation network: temporal evolution of network topology and robustness from 2001 to 2016

Abstract

The U.S. air transportation network (ATN) is critical to the mobility and the functioning of the United States. It is thus necessary to ensure that it is well-connected, efficient, robust, and secure. Despite extensive research on its topology, the temporal evolution of the network's robustness remains largely unexplored. In the present paper, a methodology is proposed to identify long-term trends in the evolution of the network's topology and robustness over time. The study of the U.S. domestic ATN's robustness was performed based on annual flight data from 1996 to 2016 and network analytics were used to examine the effects of restructuring that followed the 9/11 events. Centrality measures were computed and a node deletion method was applied to assess the network's tolerance to a targeted attack scenario. The outcome of this study indicated that the 9/11 terrorist attacks triggered vast restructuring of the network, in terms of efficiency and security. Air traffic expanded, as new airports and air routes were introduced, allowing the network to recover rapidly and become more efficient. Security concerns resulted in significant improvement of the network's robustness. Since 2001, the global traffic and topological properties of the U.S. ATN have displayed continuous growth, due to the network's expansion. On the other hand, the results suggest that although the system's ability to sustain its operational level under extreme circumstances has lately improved, its tolerance to targeted attacks has deteriorated. The presented methodology has shown its potential to be applied on different network levels or different transportation networks, in order to provide a general perspective of the system's vulnerabilities.

Revealing the component structure of the world air transportation network

“…In Cheung and Gunes ( 2012 ) the authors analyze its evolution over the period 1991–2011, and the study reported in Siozos-Rousoulis et al. ( 2021 ) concerns the period 2001–2016. Overall, one does not observe considerable changes in the topological properties of the networks.…”

Spatiotemporal variation of the worldwide air transportation network induced by COVID-19 pandemic in 2020

“… Zhou et al (2019a) Weighted network efficiency Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, E.U., India, Russia, U.S. Chen et al (2020) Size of giant component, size of isolated clusters, network efficiency China Wandelt et al (2021) Size of giant component Worldwide Network structure evolution Lin and Ban (2014) Degree, betweenness, average path length, clustering coefficient, network efficiency U.S. (1990–2010) Wang et al (2014) Degree, betweenness, closeness, average path length, clustering coefficient, density, diameter China (1930–2012) Wandelt and Sun (2015) Degree, betweenness, average path length, clustering coefficient, density The entire world at country level (2002–2013) Dai et al (2018) Degree, average path length, clustering coefficient, core Southeast Asia (1979–2012) Wandelt et al (2019) Degree, average path length, clustering coefficient, assortativity Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Russia, U.S., E.U. (2002–2013) Cheung et al (2020) Degree, betweenness, closeness, eigenvector, regional importance Worldwide (2006–2016) Siozos-Rousoulis et al (2021) Degree, betweenness, average path length, clustering coefficient, assortativity, network efficiency U.S. (2001–2016) …”

“…This paper incrementally contributes to the literature on air transportation network (ATN) structure analysis. Specifically, the existing literature ( Allroggen et al, 2015 ; Cheung et al, 2020 ; Dai et al, 2018 ; Lin and Ban, 2014 ; Siozos-Rousoulis et al, 2021 ; Wandelt and Sun, 2015 ; Wang et al, 2014 ) has investigated the long-term evolution of ATNs along with economic development. On the contrary, our study focuses on the dynamic short-term variation of the WATN induced by COVID-19, including decline and recovery.…”

On the ramifications of airspace bans in aero-political conflicts: Towards a country importance ranking

“…Spatial hazards, such as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in 2010, have led to airspace closures and several research studies have discussed the impact of the closure and its side-effects on the European aviation system ( Budd et al, 2011 , Miller, 2011 , Bolić and Sivčev, 2011 , Wilkinson et al, 2012 , Alexander, 2013 , Luchkova et al, 2015 , Reichardt et al, 2019 ). Complex network representations of the aviation system have widely analyzed the centrality of individual airports (or groups of airports) under random failure and intentional attack scenarios ( Cardillo et al, 2013 , Janić, 2015 , Wandelt et al, 2015 , Dunn and Wilkinson, 2016 , Voltes-Dorta et al, 2017 , Clark et al, 2018 , Sun et al, 2020 , Janić, 2021 , Siozos-Rousoulis et al, 2021 ). Finally, the recent developments around the COVID-19 pandemic have led to studies which analyze the resilience of the aviation system towards health/epidemiology-related disruptions ( Nikolaou and Dimitriou, 2020 , Zhou et al, 2021b , Bombelli, 2020 , Zhou et al, 2021a , Kuo et al, 2022 ).…”