COVID-19 is one of the most impactful pandemics in recent history, not only in terms of direct casualties but also regarding socio-economic impact. The goal of our study is to investigate the degree of synchronization between the number of confirmed cases in specific countries, on one hand, and how/at which stage these countries adapted their air transportation operations, on the other hand. We investigate the global air transportation system as a network of countries whose edges represent the existence of direct flights. Aggregated analysis of this country network and its evolving dynamics leads to novel insights regarding the synchronization with the number of confirmed cases; finding that most country borders were likely closed too late. We believe and hope that our analysis leads to a more efficient/effective prevention and control of future epidemics.

COVID-19 是近代历史上最具影响力的流行病之一，不仅在直接伤亡方面，而且在社会经济影响方面。我们研究的目标是一方面调查特定国家确诊病例数量与另一方面这些国家如何/在哪个阶段调整其航空运输业务之间的同步程度。我们将全球航空运输系统视为一个国家网络，其边缘代表直飞航班的存在。对该国家网络及其不断发展的动态进行汇总分析，得出关于与确诊病例数量同步的新见解；发现大多数国家/地区的边界关闭可能为时已晚。