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Major airlines cancel some US flights over 5G roll-out concerns
- Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would delay turning on some 5G towers near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights
- Dubai’s Emirates and Japan’s JAL and ANA suspended Boeing 777 flights after the company said that 5G signals may affect height readings on the model
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Major international airlines rushed on Tuesday to rejig or cancel flights to the United States on the eve of a 5G wireless roll-out that triggered safety concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay parts of the deployment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that potential 5G interference could affect height readings that play a key role in bad-weather landings on some jets and airlines say the Boeing 777 is among models initially in the spotlight.
Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would delay turning on some 5G towers near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights or switched aircraft models.
“While this is a positive development toward preventing widespread disruptions to flight operations, some flight restrictions may remain,” Delta Air Lines said.
Late Tuesday, the FAA began updating its guidance on which airports and aircraft models would be affected, in a move expected to dramatically lessen the impact of the nearly 1,500 notices of 5G restrictions issued by the regulator.
The world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777, Dubai’s Emirates, said it would suspend flights to nine US destinations from January 19, the planned date for the deployment of 5G wireless services.
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