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In order to operate economically, modern passenger jets fly at altitudes above 30,000 feet where the atmosphere is less dense providing less friction and greater fuel economy. With little atmosphere to shield them, passenger jets receive substantially higher dosages of cosmic rays and other forms of natural background radiation.
This is especially true along the increasingly popular polar routes from New York to destinations in Eastern Asia such as Tokyo and Beijing.
Although ordinary passengers need not worry about the slight increases from occasional solar flares, airline crews are coming under increasing scrutiny because of their constant exposure. Some airline companies such as United and American Airlines now take expensive precautionary steps to move flight paths to lower altitudes during solar flares. [More]
Cosmic Radiation Effects on Avionics
Dyer and Truscott Radiat Prot
Dosimetry.1999; 86: 337-342
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