Quantifying the Impacts of the May 2024 Geomagnetic Storm on Transatlantic Aviation: Rerouting, Delays, and Economic Losses

The May 2024 geomagnetic storm, one of the most intense events of Solar Cycle 25 to date, caused widespread disruptions in aviation operations, particularly for polar and high-latitude routes. This study quantifies the operational and economic impacts of the storm on 12 selected transatlantic flights between North America and Europe. Using Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data and atmospheric reanalysis products, we identify significant rerouting to lower-latitude corridors to mitigate risks of high-frequency communication outages and satellite navigation degradation. Results indicate the storm increased average flight distance by 5.2%, cruise-phase fuel consumption by 5.1%, and airborne time by 1.5%. Average departure delays rose by 15.1 min, while average arrival delays increased by 14.6 min. The estimated economic loss, accounting for additional fuel costs, time delays, and environmental impacts, was approximately USD 8,582 per flight. These findings highlight the operational vulnerabilities of high-latitude flight corridors during space weather events and stress the importance of proactive space weather risk mitigation strategies for global aviation.