Abstract
Since the “Belt and Road” Initiative, air transport has become the second largest mode of transport after ocean shipping and has contributed more and more to international trade between the countries. To explore the hierarchical characteristics of the aviation network of the “Belt and Road,” analyze the relationship between levels, and identify the core layer of the network, k-core analysis based on the “degree” value was designed and performed; the data of airports and air routes were collected to construct the “Belt and Road” aviation network model; then, k-core decomposition was conducted to reduce the size of nodes layer by layer from the outside to the inside, and a network structure model with 19 levels was obtained; the relationship between the coreness and centrality of nodes in the network was investigated, and the changes in the attribute of networks at different levels and the connection between networks were explored; according to the structural characteristics of the network, the “Belt and Road” aviation network was divided into three categories: the core layer, the middle layer, and the detail layer. The results showed that the highest-level network obtained by k-core decomposition was used as the core layer of the “Belt and Road” aviation network, including 53 airports in 37 countries, all of which have high degree centrality and eigenvector centrality; the core layer network exhibits strong “small world” characteristics; there is little difference between the degree values of nodes, and the network has high stability. The status of China’s airports in the core layer network is not prominent; the four regional sectors such as East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East are closely connected regarding air transport. Europe is relatively weakly connected with three sectors: East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia; geographical factors are still the dominant factors determining the status of hub airports along the “Belt and Road.”
Highlights
Since 2013, air transportation has become the second largest mode of transport after ocean shipping
Based on the method for network level division proposed [31] by Xiao et al combining the variation characteristics of the largest connected subgraph, clustering coefficient, and network density in different cores, the “Belt and Road” aviation network was divided into three categories: core layer network, middle layer network, and detail layer network
The data on airports and air routes were collected to construct the “Belt and Road” aviation network model; k-core decomposition was conducted, and a network structure model with 19 levels was obtained; the relationship between the coreness and centrality of nodes in the network was studied, the attribute variation of the network at different levels was analyzed, and the connection between these networks was explored; based on the structural characteristics of the 19-layer network, the “Belt and Road” aviation network was divided into three categories: the core layer, the middle layer, and the detail layer networks, and their respective characteristics were investigated
Summary
Since 2013, air transportation has become the second largest mode of transport after ocean shipping. Erefore, identifying the core layer that plays a leading role through the hierarchical analysis of the aviation network is the key to further optimize the aviation network structure and provide a stronger support for the “Belt and Road” Initiative. E abovementioned methods can find the airports playing a central role in the network but fail to identify the core layer of the aviation network, making the research results difficult to be used to further optimize the aviation network structure. Erefore, using k-core analysis based on the “degree” value to study the hierarchical structure of the aviation network and identifying the core layer of the network by analyzing the relationship between the layers can provide theoretical guidance for the further improvement of the “Belt and Road” aviation network Erefore, many scholars have tried to study the core groups in the network through the cohesive subgroups analysis [11, 12], analyzed the cliques in the network and the relationship within and between cliques by such methods as cliques, n-clique, k-cluster, and k-core [13], and explored the “substructures” of the network [14]; a series of algorithms were used to reveal how the structure of the network is composed of substructures [15] and how some important substructures exert direct impact on the overall function of the network [16]. erefore, using k-core analysis based on the “degree” value to study the hierarchical structure of the aviation network and identifying the core layer of the network by analyzing the relationship between the layers can provide theoretical guidance for the further improvement of the “Belt and Road” aviation network
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