Uncertainty over the effects of the new G5 cellular technology on critical aircraft equipment has led to a number of international airlines canceling or making changes to flights to the US – including Emirates, Air India, German Lufthansa and Japan’s national airline.
Airports where flights have been canceled or changed extend across the United States, from Miami to Seattle, from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco, via Boston, Houston, Dallas and Chicago.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has expressed concern that fifth-generation cellular antennas near airports – and not passengers’ cellular devices – could disrupt the aircraft’s altimeter readability, which is intended to give the pilot an indication of distance from the ground. Others used for altitude reading, those that do not use radio signals but rely on air pressure gauges, but in certain weather conditions cannot be used, so the altimeter is critical.
Despite promises by U.S. mobile service supervisors that there is no fear of disruption, last December the Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency order banning pilots from using the altimeter even when arriving at low-visibility airports that require it. Weather requiring the use of an altimeter.
The planned date for the launch of the new technology has been set for today, but two leading US cellular companies, AT&T and Verizon, announced this week that they will postpone the operation of G5 antennas located near airports.
Meanwhile, an AT&T spokeswoman expressed frustration and told CNN that the company “urges the Federal Aviation Administration to make a safe retirement of the new technology, as has been done in about 40 other countries, and within a reasonable time.”
The Biden administration and airlines welcomed the postponement of the operation of the antennas, due to the fear that the disruptions in the US aviation industry will interfere with the recovery of the American economy in general and the tourism industry in particular. Of about a thousand flights a day, and sought to further delay the operation of the antennas.