Covid-19 전․후 국제항공화물 네트워크 변화 분석: 미주 노선을 중심으로

Abstract

As the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly around the world, it has caused many difficulties to the global economy. The IATA(International Air Transport Association) announced that after the Covid-19, the suspension and reduction of available air routes has reduced air cargo supply and critical network environment collapsed due to delays in delivery time. This study collected air cargo volume from 2017 to 2021, including the Covid-19, period, and analyzed changes in network centrality through SNA(Social Network Analysis). As a result, from 2020 to 2021, when Covid-19, occurred, the number of nodes increased, and the number of links showed a decline. Although the overall network connection level has become stronger, it has been confirmed that the number of links has decreased due to the suspension, reduction, and use of detour routes from Asia due to restrictions and lock down. Looking at the ranking of Degree Centrality of the Asia-North America route, Hong Kong International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and Incheon International Airport, have not changed their rankings for the last five years. They are the global top three air cargo hub airports, with the largest network of routes in Asia and the most active transshipment and their Degree Centrality has been confirmed high. Anchorage International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport ranked first and second in America, with the two airports having the highest Degree Centrality. After Covid-19, the air cargo was concentrated at Anchorage International Airport and the air cargo volume at Los Angeles International Airport, which had decreased since the spread of Covid-19, rebounded again in 2021. Due to the increase in the number of virus infections in LA-Long Beach Port, the ship congestion was severe due to a lack of labor. It was confirmed that the demand for delayed shipping cargo was changed to air cargo and the demand for high-value cargo such as semiconductors and bio products increased, and the air cargo volume gradually recovered. Existing studies on air cargo network have been limited to the analysis of air cargo volume and passenger network structure in countries around the world, East Asia and Europe. However, this study is differentiated from the previous studies in that it analyzed the network focusing on Asia-North America routes that are competitive in the air cargo market. This study identified how the air cargo market was affected for the last five years including the time of the global pandemic, which makes the study very timely and meaningful. In particular, by comparing and analyzing air cargo networks in Asia and the Americas, where international trade is active in the air cargo market, each airport’s air cargo response capacity and competitiveness were evaluated and provided as evidence to gauge future ecosystem changes in the aviation industry. As the American air cargo market grows in the future, it is necessary to expand the scope of study to re-evaluate the centrality of airports, and consistent study should be conducted before the Covid-19 transition phase to measure changes in the aviation industry ecosystem.