Solar Storm Lights Up the Sky. Makes Planes Change Routes

Starwatchers were out in force in northern Europe on Tuesday, hoping to see a spectacular showing of northern lights after the most powerful solar storm in six years.

They weren't disappointed.

"The lights appear as green and red mist. It's been mostly green the past few nights. I don't know if that's just special for Ireland," said Gerard O'Kane, a 41-year-old taxi driver and vice chairman of the Buncrana Camera Club in County Donegal in Ireland's northwest corner.
An aurora appears when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth's magnetic field, exciting electrons of oxygen and nitrogen.

The northern lights are sometimes seen from northern Scotland, but they were also visible Monday night from northeast England and Ireland, where such sightings are a rarity.

On Monday and Tuesday, the proton radiation from the eruption reached strong levels, the most powerful since October 2003. That mostly affects astronauts and satellites, but NASA said the crew on the International Space Station was not harmed and only a few minor problems with satellites were reported, Biesecker said.

Scientists have been expecting solar eruptions to become more intense as the sun enters a more active phase of its 11-year cycle, with an expected peak in 2013.

Delta Airlines had to reroute a handful of flights that were scheduled to fly over the North Pole today.
A Delta spokesman said the flights were shifted to fly further south in an effort to ensure consistent communications. The affected routes were between Detroit and the Asian cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Inchon. United had to re-route one flight Monday and American reported no impact, but said the airline continues to monitor the situation.

The FAA said it was keeping close watch on the situation today but did not issue an alert.

Atlanta Flights Canceled, Flyers Stranded

You would not have know that Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airports is the busiest airports in the world by walking through it today.

Most of the people in the airport were waiting in lines or talking on cell phones trying to rebook their flights.

The snow prompted Delta Air Lines and AirTran Holdings Inc. to scrub most flights to and from Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, and led United Parcel Service Inc. to suspend pickups and deliveries in its hometown.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed declared a state of emergency and urged people to avoid driving unless necessary. Hundreds of schools, government offices and businesses were closed, and thousands were without power.

The Atlanta airport, which remains open with its runways operational, has “almost no flight activity due to cancellations,” said John Kennedy, a spokesman. The airport handles about 88 million passengers a year.

Delta scrubbed 1,450 flights today, or about 25 percent of its regular schedule, with the “overwhelming bulk” into and out of Atlanta, said Anthony Black, a spokesman for the carrier. Delta and its regional partners account for about two-thirds of passengers at the airport, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

AirTran canceled at least 330 flights today, including all flights to and from Atlanta, its largest hub, spokesman Christopher White said in an e-mail message. The last time AirTran scrubbed all flights in a city was after the September 2001 terrorist attacks when the U.S. grounded all air traffic.

A handful of flights are hoping to leave Tuesday morning.  The freezing rain and snow are supposed to stop, but temps will barely bypass freezing this week, making travel difficult for the next few days.

Check out http://www.atlanta-airport.com/ for more detailed information.

Delta Shows it Doesn't Care About Customers

Delta Airlines showed it cares more about making a buck than doing something for its customers this week when they rejected an inflight magazine ad for products made by Scottevest, a company that specializes in making clothing for travelers.

When Scottevest was approached to purchase a last minute spot in the November issue of Delta's Sky Magazine, they sent in their usual ad, featuring an X-Ray photo of their Fleece 5.0 jacket, and the title "The Most Stylish Way to Beat the System". Hardly anything an airline would have to worry about.

Sadly, Delta Airlines thought this might be bad for business - and rejected the ad. They then rejected a revised version, at which point, Scott Jordan of Scottevest gave up trying to work with Delta, and took it to the Internet instead.

The bottom line is that baggage fees are too important to Delta to jeopardize. Last quarter, airlines pulled in $893 million in baggage fees, and there is clearly no way they'll do anything that will help consumers find ways to avoid paying up. Of course, they clearly didn't expect this kind of backlash. But to be honest, it couldn't have happened to a nicer airline.

The truth is now Scottevest is getting more positive publicity because Delta didn't run the ad.  I predict Scottevest will see sales increase because of the is, and I myself am going to order a SeV Revolution Plus because it is such an incredible product.

Delta Pilot Accused of Being Drunk

A Delta pilot, apparently drunk was yanked off his jet as he prepared to fly from Amsterdam to Newark on Tuesday, officials said.

The Delta captain from Woodbury, N.J., blew a .023 percent blood alcohol level in a breath test, according to the National Police Corps in Amsterdam. That level is just above the legal limit in the Netherlands, which has some of the toughest drunk driving laws in Europe.

Delta issued a statement on its website and then posted via Twitter, saying Flight No. 35 was canceled “out of concern that a crew member appeared to be unfit for duty."