The bosses of ten American airlines expressed alarm to the United States authorities on Monday about the potential "chaos" that the deployment of ultra-fast 5G mobile internet technology around airports would represent, in a letter obtained by AFP.
“Immediate response is required to prevent significant operational disruption to passengers, carriers, supply chains and the delivery of essential medical supplies,” they write two days before 5G's scheduled entry into service.
Actors in the aviation sector in the United States are concerned about the consequences of 5G on aircraft due to possible disruptions to on-board instruments.
A pause in the deployment of 5G
"On a day like yesterday (Sunday), more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subject to cancellations, detours, or delays", fear in particular the bosses of the companies American Airlines, Delta, or even Southwest, but also those of the airline divisions logistics giants FedEx and UPS.
“Given the short time remaining and the significance of this completely avoidable economic calamity, we respectfully request that you support and take all necessary actions for 5G to be deployed with the exception of when the towers are too close to the tarmacs. airports,” they ask the US government, the aviation security agency, the FAA, and the telecom policeman, the FCC.
They therefore want a pause, “until the FAA can determine how this deployment can be accomplished safely without catastrophic disruption”.
At the beginning of January, the airlines had obtained a new deadline, until Wednesday, for the deployment of the new frequency bands.
Threats of legal action
They threatened, via their federation Airlines 4 America, to sue the telecommunications giants AT-T and Verizon in order to obtain this delay and technical modifications in the deployment of the latest generation of ultra-fast mobile Internet.
3.7-3.8 GHz frequency bands were awarded to AT-T and Verizon in February 2021 following a bidding process worth tens of billions of dollars.
Amid concerns about potential interference issues with altitude-measuring devices on airplanes, the FAA had issued new guidelines limiting the use of these on-board devices in certain situations.
But American airlines have protested against the potential costs incurred, and called on the authorities to quickly find a solution.
In December, the European aircraft manufacturers Airbus and American Boeing had also expressed their “concern” about possible disturbances on the instruments on board their aircraft by 5G, in a letter to the American Department of Transport.