CORRECT: Delta Reroutes Flights As Solar Storm Hits Earth
January 24 2012 - 3:58PM
Dow Jones News
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) said Tuesday that it was rerouting
some transpolar flights between Asia and the U.S. to avoid the
impact of the largest solar storm in almost a decade.
The Atlanta carrier said some flights to Detroit from Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Seoul took a more southerly routing on overnight
flights, though a spokesman said planes flew faster to keep
schedules intact. Tuesday departures from the U.S. were expected to
follow similar routes.
Airlines occasionally reroute transpolar flights as a
precautionary measure during big solar storms, with radiation
levels heightened near the poles because of the relatively thin
ozone layer.
The region is also more prone to the disturbance of navigation
and communications systems because of the convergence of magnetic
field lines at the poles.
A huge solar storm has spewed out a stream of charged particles
that hit the Earth earlier Tuesday. The Space Weather Prediction
Center of the U.S. National Weather Service said it was the largest
solar storm since October 2003.
Transpolar routes provide the shortest flights between the U.S.
and some parts of Asia.
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL), which operates a number
of transpolar flights from Chicago and Newark airports, said there
had been no operational impact from the storm.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (CPCAY, 0293.HK), another regular on
the routes, was not immediately available for comment.
-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135;
doug.cameron@dowjones.com
Cathay Pacific Airways (PK) (USOTC:CPCAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Cathay Pacific Airways (PK) (USOTC:CPCAY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024