Worldwide aviation network vulnerability analysis: a complex network approach

Transportation networks play a crucial role nowadays, not only in positive terms that include human mobility and the exchange of goods, but also in negative terms that include the spread of diseases and other malignancies. Among these networks, the worldwide aviation network (WAN) has become the largest and one of the most important global transportation networks in modern society, supporting the traffic of billions of passengers traveling between thousands of airports on millions of flights every year. Since the WAN has become one of the indispensable infrastructures in our daily lives, understanding its structure and vulnerability is an essential issue. In this work, we apply complex network analyses to elucidate the hidden characteristics of the network. We first construct a global aviation network using datasets obtained from an open source project named OpenFlights. We then clarify the topological and spatial characteristics of the constructed network and provide a binary status model to investigate the dynamics of the network with emphasis on its vulnerability as a result of extreme events. Our results may contribute to the understanding of the response of the network to disturbances and provide insights on the construction of a robust network and the improvement of the network resilience.