CORRECT: Delta Reroutes Flights As Solar Storm Hits Earth

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; 
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