A number of airlines have suspended services to the US as 5G mobile services roll out in the country on Wednesday.
Airlines had expressed concern that interference from 5G signals could affect altitude readings of aircraft, which are a critical factor in bad-weather landings. Airlines are worried that the Boeing 777 long-range jet, in particular, would be vulnerable to such interference.
US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had on January 14 said that “5G interference with the aircraft's radio altimeter could prevent engine and braking systems from transitioning to landing mode, which could prevent an aircraft from stopping on the runway”.
Therefore, a group of US-based airlines said in a letter to FAA that that 5G internet deployment could cause “catastrophic” aviation crisis. The group comprised airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and FedEx.
Emirates, the largest operator of Boeing 777s, announced it would suspend flights to nine US destinations. However, Emirates services to New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC would continue.
“Japan's two major airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, said they would curtail Boeing 777 flights. ANA said it was cancelling or changing the aircraft used on some US flights. Korean Air Lines said it had switched away from 777s and 747-8s on six US passenger and cargo flights, Taiwan's China Airlines said it would reschedule some flights and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said it would deploy different aircraft types if needed,” Reuters reported.
Air India suspends flights
Air India announced on Tuesday it would curtail or revise flights to the US. It announced that flights AI101/102 (Delhi-New York-Delhi), AI173/174 (Delhi-San Francisco-Delhi), AI 127/126 (Delhi-Chicago-Delhi) and AI 191/144 (Mumbai-Newark-Mumbai) would not be operated on Wednesday.
Apart from Air India, United Airlines and American Airlines are the other two carriers that operate flights between India and the US.
Operators to delay services near airports
AT&T and Verizon on Tuesday announced they would delay launching 5G services in the vicinity of key airports following concern from airlines.
The announcement came as the Joe Biden administration attempted to broker a settlement between airlines and the telecom companies.
also read
- With just Rs 150 base airfare, take a 50-minute flight
- Indigo flight from Ayodhya to Delhi diverted to Chandigarh, lands 'with 1-2 minutes of fuel left'
- How many alcoholic drinks can airlines serve to passengers? Here's what DGCA said
- ‘Unacceptable’: Jyotiraditya Scindia on IndiGo passengers eating on tarmac at Mumbai airport
AT&T said it would delay turning on new cell towers around runways at some airports—it did not say how many or for how long—and work with federal regulators to settle the dispute.
A short time later, Verizon said it will launch its 5G network but added, “we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports”. It blamed airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they “have not been able to fully resolve navigating 5G around airports” although it is working in more than 40 countries.
(With PTI inputs)
