U.S. Airlines chief warns that 5G could land some planes, causing Reuters to wreak havoc

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. passenger and freight carriers warned on Monday that the less than 36-hour plane crash was a “disaster” when AT&T (NYSE 🙂 and Verizon (NYSE 🙂 unveil the new 5G. service.

Airlines warned that the new C-Band 5G service, which will begin on Wednesday, could render a significant number of wide-ranging aircraft unusable, “leave tens of thousands of Americans abroad” and cause “chaos” on U.S. flights.

“Unless our main sites are allowed to fly, the majority of the public passengers and shipments will basically be on the ground,” wrote American Airlines (NASDAQ :), Delta Air Lines (NYSE :), United Airlines, CEOs of Southwest Airlines. (NYSE 🙂 and others in a letter first reported by Reuters.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive aircraft instruments, such as altimeters, and significantly disrupt low-visibility operations.

“This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and more than 100,000 passengers would be canceled due to cancellations or delays,” he warned https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1483148794690740224?s=20 letters.

The companies were considering whether to cancel some international flights to the United States on Wednesday night.

“With the proposed cuts at selected airports, the transportation industry is preparing for service disruptions. We are optimistic that all industries and the government can work together to end solutions that mitigate as much schedule impact as possible,” said Boeing (NYSE). 🙂 he said on Monday.

The action is urgent, the airlines added in a letter signed by UPS Airlines, Alaska Air (NYSE :), Atlas Air (NASDAQ :), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ 🙂 and FedEx (NYSE 🙂 Express. “To put it bluntly, the nation’s trade will be disrupted.”

The letter went to Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, Pete Buttigieg, secretary of transportation, Steve Dickson, FAA administrator, and Jessica Rosenworcel, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Airlines for America, the group that organized the letter, declined to comment. Government agencies did not immediately comment.

“INTERVENTION IS NECESSARY”

AT&T and Verizon, which won the entire C-Band spectrum in a $ 80 billion auction last year, agreed on Jan. 3 to protect areas around 50 airports to reduce the risk of interference and take other steps to reduce potential interference for six months. They also agreed to postpone the deployment for two weeks until Wednesday, avoiding a temporary stoppage of aircraft safety after a 30-day delay in service.

Verizon and AT&T did not comment on Monday.

Chief airline CEO Dave Calhoun and Boeing chief executive made a lengthy call on Sunday to warn Buttigieg and Dickson that the crisis was coming, officials told Reuters.

Airlines are demanding that “5G be implemented in all countries at approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from airports” except at some major airports.

“Immediate intervention is needed to avoid major disruptions to the delivery of air passengers, dispatchers, supply chain and necessary medical supplies,” they said.

Airlines have added that flight restrictions will not be limited to bad weather operations.

“Many modern aircraft security systems will be considered unusable, causing a much bigger problem than we know … Aircraft manufacturers have informed us that there are large parts of the operating fleet that need to be on the ground without limits.”

One area of ​​concern is whether some Boeing 777s will not be able to land at major U.S. airports after the start of 5G service, as well as some Boeing cargo planes, airline officials told Reuters.

The airlines called for measures to “ensure that 5G is deployed, except when the towers are too close to the airport runways, until the FAA can determine how it can be done safely without disruption.”

The FAA said on Sunday that about 45% of the U.S. commercial aircraft fleet had been approved for low-visibility landings at many airports where the 5G C band would be deployed, and expected more approval before Wednesday. Airlines said on Monday that the list did not include many major airports.