Flight 8873, you are cleared for takeoff

摘要

This month, we take a look at airport operations through the eyes of a sewer. Airline passengers are well acquainted with the "spoke-and-hub" system operated by major airlines. Each hub serves as a transfer point for groups of flights from outlying airports, the spokes. When a group of airplanes lands, passengers scurry about to board connecting flights, and all of the airplanes depart again for other airports. This process is known as a "pulse," and most hubs experience about five pulses per day. A traveling sewer sociologist naturally will ask, "I wonder if these pulses can be seen in airport sewer use data?" We had the same thought and decided to take a look.