“Until our largest hubs are cleared to take off, much of the traveling public will have to stay grounded,” the company bosses wrote.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Washington US airlines and cargo carriers have warned of a “catastrophic” crisis in the airline industry from the rollout of new 5G wireless services. The planned use of the C-band frequency range in the USA from Wednesday could make many machines unusable and lead to hundreds of thousands of Americans being stranded abroad and chaos ensuing, according to a letter published on Monday by several companies – including American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
“Until our largest hubs are cleared to take off, much of the traveling public will have to stay grounded,” the company bosses wrote. In the meantime, there are already considerations to cancel some international flights. However, the actors are also working on possible solutions to prevent flight delays and cancellations from Wednesday. The US Air Safety Authority FAA has warned of possible interference from 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics such as radio altimeters. The two US mobile operators AT&T and Verizon have agreed to a buffer zone around around 50 airports to reduce risks and other steps in the next six months. In contrast to the USA, a 5G spectrum is generally used in Europe that is further away from the frequency bands used for radio altimeters.
More: “Risk not to be underestimated”: Why 5G can disrupt US air traffic
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