Relationship between the Chinese Main Air Transport Network and COVID-19 Pandemic Transmission

Min Su, Baoyang Hu, Yipeng Jiang, Zhenchao Zhang and Zeyang Li
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Min Su: School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Baoyang Hu: School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Yipeng Jiang: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116300, China
Zhenchao Zhang: School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Zeyang Li: School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the civil aviation passenger transport industry. This study analyzes the scale change and spatial distribution of the Chinese main air transport network (CMATN) and its role in the early spread of the pandemic using a complex network analysis method and econometric model. The result shows that CMATN is mainly located in the economically developed and densely populated central and eastern regions of China. The normalized degree, closeness, and betweenness centralities of CMATN node cities show an overall increasing trend, indicating that the air transport network is constantly improving. There was a significant positive relationship between the centrality of node cities, the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of confirmed cases, indicating that air transport networks were crucial in the pandemic’s early spread. Furthermore, social and economic variables such as GDP and population had a significant positive impact on the duration of the pandemic, indicating that higher levels of social and economic development increased the seriousness of the pandemic. Our findings are expected to supplement existing research and serve as a point of reference for pandemic prevention and control.

Keywords: air transport network; COVID-19; complex network theory; spatial distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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