Dubai, Jan. 19 (BNA): Major international airlines canceled flights to the United States or changed planes on Wednesday, the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that new 5G mobile phone service may interfere with aircraft technology.
Airlines have taken widely different approaches to the fermentation crisis affecting international travel, from Middle East carrier Emirates drastically reducing its US-bound flights to Air France saying it will fly as normal, according to the Associated Press.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the carriers were making those decisions — or whether they took into account that carriers AT&T and Verizon agreed this week to halt the rollout of new high-speed wireless service near major airports.
But some said they had received warnings from the US Federal Aviation Administration or Boeing that the plane maker’s 777 – used by carriers around the world – was particularly affected by the new service.
It was also not clear to what extent the cancellations would be disrupted. Several airlines said they would just try to use different planes to maintain their schedules.
Similar mobile networks have been deployed in dozens of other countries – but there are some key differences in how the US network works that can increase the potential for it to cause problems for airlines.
The new fifth generation networks Use a portion of the radio spectrum They are close to those used by radio altimeters, which measure the height of an aircraft above the ground and help pilots land in low visibility conditions.
The US Federal Communications Commission, which sets a barrier between the frequency used by 5G and the frequency used by altimeters, has decided that it can be used safely in the air traffic environment.
AT&T and Verizon have said their devices will not interfere with aircraft electronics. But FAA officials saw a potential problem, and carriers agreed to pause on Tuesday while it was being addressed.
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