Navigating through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis: Evaluating the resilience of Chinese international air freighter networks

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the global air transport industry, but it also provided a business opportunity for the air freight sector. Many countries, including China, increased the use of all-cargo flights to compensate for the loss of belly capacity. This paper provides a deeper understanding of the Chinese international scheduled freighter network (CISFN) during and post-COVID-19. The results show that the CISFN adapted rapidly to the increasing air cargo volume and continued to expand. The focus of the network expansion has been on developing the hub-and-spoke (H&S) system, which is the most efficient model for accommodating the increase in dedicated cargo demand, rather than establishing point-to-point routes among existing communities. The densification of the H&S system provided more alternatives for the hub cities, and consequently the robustness of the system has improved. Government policies have played a crucial role in shaping China's dedicated air cargo networks. The introduction of some key policies has boosted cargo airline expansion and enhanced the resilience of this sector during the pandemic. However, the network remained vulnerable to disruptions, particularly at some key hubs.