Analysis of the Air Transport Network Characteristics of Major Airports

The world’s major airports are directly connected to hundreds of airports without intermediate routes. This connectivity can be described as the network in which the airport becomes a node and the route becomes a connection line. In this regard, this study analyzes the air transport network of 1,060 airports using the social network analysis (SNA) methodology. We consolidated the data from three airline alliances and established a network of 1,060 airports and 5,580 routes in 173 countries. Many previous studies on air transport network examined several specific airports or regions and mainly utilized the internal indicators of airports. Conversely, this study conducted a comprehensive analysis covering 173 countries by using air route, which is an external indicator of airports. This study presented the general characteristics of major countries and regions from the perspective of SNA and compared the individual networks of the United States and China, which have the greatest influence on international air logistics within the scope of the entire network analysis. This study can aid in the understanding of air transport networks and logistics connectivity in inter-city and inter-country transport.