Statistical mechanics for analytic planning: an application to domestic air traffic in China

Statistical mechanics proves useful when assessing the topology of many large-scale networks, including infrastructure. One objective would be to modify the pattern of capacity expansion inside a system. Airports are spatially distributed and they need to respond to potential demand that they face locally. Airlines that control the system through airport hubs are identified as agents. A relationship between these hubs and the system-wide level of variance in traffic flows can be established. It is shown how intervention on selected hubs would reduce negative traffic variance while enhancing a more balanced, less costly growth of the system itself.