A DYNAMICAL MODEL FOR THE AIR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK

Although in the literature several Air Transportation Networks have been modeled through the mathematical framework of Complex Networks, less attention has been devoted to their evolution: specifically, topology is studied as static, excluding any schedule information. Simulating the growth of an air network is not an easy task, due to the great amount and heterogeneity of agents interacting (aircrafts, controllers and more). In this work we use a recently developed tool, called Scheduled Network, to define an algorithm to simulate such a growth; the basic assumption is that the cost for passengers should be minimized, which is approximated with the time needed to go from one airport to another one. Some results are presented, and the role and importance of hubs (that is, central airports where great part of the flights are concentrated) is discussed.