Airports and Cities in Networks

Abstract

Airports are main gateways to the cities of the network society. In this “age of access” the international status of metropolitan regions might be increasingly related to the position of its airports in the networks of air transportation. This article is about the interaction between city, airport and airline networks. If the position of an airport in the airline network is of vital importance to a metropolitan region, what could be the impact of the development of global airline alliances? Do the alliances build networks that put relevant world cities in central positions? How do airports develop their positions as gateways; what infrastructure do they provide and what is their role in metropolitan areas? This article gives a framework for considering airline and city networks; it is a quick scan based on the data available from the current literature.