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American Airlines planes in Arlington, Virginia
Photo: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA
The bosses of the largest US airlines have warned against the deployment of 5G technology near airports.
In a letter Monday, industry leaders called for "immediate action" from authorities to "prevent significant operational disruption to passengers, airlines, supply chains and the delivery of essential medical supplies."
On Wednesday, the network with the new 5G mobile communications standard is to be put into operation nationwide in the USA. The US aviation industry has long warned of dangers to air traffic from interference between the technical systems of aircraft and 5G transmitters. The companies are particularly concerned about devices near airports that have not yet been certified, which could interfere with the aircraft's altimeters at critical moments.
"On a day like yesterday (Sunday), more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be affected by cancellations, diversions or delays," the airline bosses wrote in the letter, which was available to the AFP news agency.
"The nation's commerce will come to a standstill," they declared.
The signatories of the letter include the heads of the airlines American Airlines, Delta and Southwest, but also the flight divisions of the logistics giants FedEx and UPS.
The commissioning of the 5G network has already been postponed twice
"Given the short time remaining and the magnitude of this entirely avoidable economic disaster," the aviation industry urged US authorities not to roll out 5G in the immediate vicinity of runways. The companies called for a moratorium until the FAA could determine how deployment of 5G technology "can be rolled out safely and without catastrophic disruption."
The FAA said on Sunday that it had cleared the operation of certain 5G transmitters near "up to 48 of the 88 airports that may be most directly affected by 5G C-band interference." Previously, the airlines had twice delayed the commissioning of the 5G network, which was originally planned for early December. The aviation industry had also threatened lawsuits against the telecommunications providers AT&T and Verizon.
AT&T and Verizon were awarded frequencies to build the 5G network last February after winning a multi-billion dollar public tender.
Due to concerns about potential interference issues with aircraft altimeters, the FAA issued new guidelines that limit the use of these onboard devices in certain situations.
However, the airlines fear that this could lead to disruptions in flight operations and thus to high follow-up costs for themselves.
cop/AFP
