Airlines fly thousands of miles extra to avoid space radiation

When the sun erupts, the most efficient path between continents suddenly becomes a radiation hazard. Airlines typically favor polar routes because the curvature of the Earth makes them hundreds of kilometers shorter, but these regions also act as a funnel for charged particles during solar storms. At a cruising altitude of twelve kilometers, a severe space weather event can double a passenger's exposure to ionizing radiation, delivering a dose similar to what a technician might receive during a busy shift in a radiology lab.