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The vulnerability of the European air traffic network to spatial hazards

Author

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  • Sean Wilkinson
  • Sarah Dunn
  • Shu Ma

Abstract

The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano had a devastating effect on the European air traffic network, preventing air travel throughout most of Europe for 6 days (Oroian in ProEnvironment 3:5–8, 2010 ). The severity of the disruption was surprising as previous research suggests that this type of network should be tolerant to random hazard (Albert et al. in Nature 406(6794):378–382, 2000 ; Strogatz in Nature 410(6825):268–276, 2001 ). The source of this hazard tolerance lies in the degree distribution of the network which, for many real-world networks, has been shown to follow a power law (Albert et al. in Nature 401(6749):130–131, 1999 ; Albert et al. in Nature 406(6794):378–382, 2000 ). In this paper, we demonstrate that the ash cloud was unexpectedly disruptive because it was spatially coherent rather than uniformly random. We analyse the spatial dependence in air traffic networks and demonstrate how the combination of their geographical distribution and their network architectures jeopardises their inherent hazard tolerance. Copyright The Author(s) 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Wilkinson & Sarah Dunn & Shu Ma, 2012. "The vulnerability of the European air traffic network to spatial hazards," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 60(3), pages 1027-1036, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:60:y:2012:i:3:p:1027-1036
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-011-9885-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mario Mazzocchi & Francesca Hansstein & Maddalena Ragona, 2010. "The 2010 Volcanic Ash Cloud and Its Financial Impact on the European Airline Industry," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(02), pages 92-100, July.
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    3. Steven H. Strogatz, 2001. "Exploring complex networks," Nature, Nature, vol. 410(6825), pages 268-276, March.
    4. Burghouwt, Guillaume & Hakfoort, Jacco & Ritsema van Eck, Jan, 2003. "The spatial configuration of airline networks in Europe," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 309-323.
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    6. Réka Albert & Hawoong Jeong & Albert-László Barabási, 1999. "Diameter of the World-Wide Web," Nature, Nature, vol. 401(6749), pages 130-131, September.
    7. Li, W. & Wang, Q.A. & Nivanen, L. & Le Méhauté, A., 2006. "How to fit the degree distribution of the air network?," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 368(1), pages 262-272.
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