© Reuters
–
The CEOs of major US passenger and cargo carriers warned on Monday of an impending “catastrophic” aviation crisis in less than 36 hours, when AT&T and Verizon are ready to activate a new 5G service.
Airlines have warned that the new C-Band 5G service, which will be available Wednesday, could make a significant number of wide-body aircraft unusable, “potentially block tens of thousands of Americans abroad” and cause “chaos” for US flights.
“Unless our major hubs receive permits to fly, the vast majority of passengers and cargo will be virtually stopped,” the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others wrote in a letter. Reuters first.
You can find out if 5G is a threat to US flights and why there is no problem in other parts of the world here.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive aircraft instruments such as altimeters and significantly impede low visibility operations.
“This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers will be canceled, diverted or delayed,” it said. the letter.
© Reuters
–
Late Monday, airlines were considering whether to begin canceling some international flights due to arrive in the United States on Wednesday. “With the proposed restrictions at certain airports, the transport industry is preparing for some service disruptions. We are optimistic that we can work with different industries and with the government to finalize solutions that safely mitigate as much as possible impacts on flight schedules.” said aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Monday.
The action is urgent, the airlines added in a letter also signed by UPS Airlines, Alaska Air, Atlas Air, JetBlue Airways and FedEx Express. “Honestly, the country’s trade will stop,” they warned.
The letter was also addressed to White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deez, Transport Secretary Pete Buttig, FAA Administrator Steve Dixon and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworsall.
–
The FAA said it “will continue to ensure that passengers are safe and continues to work with the aviation industry and wireless communications companies to try to reduce delays and cancellations of 5G-related flights.” The other state agencies did not comment.
AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly the entire C-Band spectrum at an $ 80 billion auction last year, agreed on January 3 to build buffer zones around 50 airports to reduce the risk of disruption and take other steps to reduce potential disruption. for six months. They also agreed to postpone activation by two weeks (until Wednesday), temporarily preventing a conflict with aviation safety, after postponing the service by 30 days.
Verizon and AT&T declined to comment on Monday, but said the C-Band 5G had been successfully implemented in about 40 other countries without any problems.
© Reuters
–
United Airlines warned late Monday that the problem could affect more than 15,000 of its flights, 1.25 million passengers and a huge amount of cargo a year. The airline added that it faces “significant restrictions on the 787, 777, 737 models in major cities such as Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.”
The airlines want “5G to be deployed anywhere in the country, except within approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) of runways” at some key airports. “Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant disruptions in the work of passenger transport, freight forwarders, supply chains and the supply of essential medical supplies,” they said.
The airlines added that flight restrictions will not only affect operations in bad weather. “Many modern aircraft safety systems will be considered unusable, causing a much bigger problem than we knew … Aircraft manufacturers have informed us, that there are huge parts of the operating fleet that may need to be grounded indefinitely. ”
–
One area of concern is whether some or all of the Boeing 777s will be able to land at some key US airports after the launch of the 5G service, as well as some Boeing cargo planes, airline officials told Reuters. Airlines have called for action to ensure that “5G is deployed except in situations where communications towers are too close to airport runways, while the FAA determines how this can be achieved safely and without disastrous disruption.”
The FAA said Sunday that it has allowed approximately 45 percent of the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet to make low-visibility landings at many airports where the 5G C-band will be located, and they expect to issue more approvals before Wednesday. The airlines said on Monday that the list did not include many major airports.
–
