How do solar flares effect air traffic cotrollers?

Answer 1

Air Traffic Control works primarily by radio transmissions and other electronic communications. Severe electromagnetic "storms" within the Earth's ionosphere (an upper layer of the atmosphere) can degrade radio communications, and a VERY severe "solar storm" can actually cause power failures here on Earth. These are fairly unusual, but people have begun to panic and fly into a tizzy whenever ANY unusual event occurs.

And a lot of our electrical infrastructure is verging on collapse. Too many power plants are too old, and for various reasons like cost, environmental impact and government regulations they have not been replaced or upgraded. Our demand for electricity is growing more and more rapidly, at a time when the supply is level or decreasing. Simple problems coupled with high demand and waning reserve capacity can cause widespread blackouts which affect EVERYBODY, not just air travelers. Today, for example, (September 8, 2011) much of the City of San Diego, California is blacked out by a combination of too little electrical supply, extremely hot weather causing record-breaking air conditioning use, and the failure of one power transmission line.