Growing 5G panic prompts more airlines to cancel flights to US
Several airlines including Lufthansa and British Airways (BA) have either cancelled or rescheduled their flights to the US as a result of concerns over today’s roll out of 5G services across the country.
In addition to cancelling a flight from Frankfurt to New York, the German carrier and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines swapped aircraft, with Lufthansa choosing to operate a Boeing 747-400 instead of a 747-8 on several US routes.
BA cancelled some flights and used an Airbus A380 instead of a Boeing 777 for its daily Los Angeles route, Reuters reported.
Lufthansa and BA are the latest airlines to scrap and modify some of their routes over 5G safety concerns. Just yesterday Emirates decided scrapped some of its flights “due to operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the US.”
The airlines’ decision came as a result of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) updating its guidance on which kind of aircraft could be impacted more by the deployment of 5G near airports.
After clearing 62 per cent of the US entire commercial fleet, the FAA reported that in some models – including Boeing’s 777 – instruments such as altimeters, which are used by pilots to take off and land in bad weather, could face 5G-related issues.
The Biden administration has been locked in talks with US aviation and telecommunications stakeholders, after US airlines warned 5G could “could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas.”
“We recognize the economic importance of expanding 5G, and we appreciate the wireless companies working with us to protect the flying public and the country’s supply chain,” said transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg following the decision by US network operators Verixon and AT & T to limit 5G deployment at airports.
“The complex U.S. airspace leads the world in safety because of our high standards for aviation, and we will maintain this commitment as wireless companies deploy 5G.”