Dynamic Network of United States Air Transportation at Multiple Levels

Abstract

United States air transportation contributes to the economy of the country by facilitating the mobility of people and goods. Air transportation is one of the essential systems in the US and the world. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of US air transportation from three angles (i.e., number of flights, number of passengers, and the amount of freight carried) at three levels of airport, city, and state. While there are unique dynamics at each, there is a strong fluctuation in the activity of the links, indicating a highly dynamic system. Backbone analyses of the networks also show that there are specific periods (such as 2007 for flights, 2008 for freight, and 2012 for passengers) in which network changes drastically.