U.S. airlines and airplane makers warned that a massive crisis would occur when major telecommunications companies deploy their new faster 5G wireless internet service.
The warning came ahead of the scheduled launch of the new C-Band 5G service from leading telecommunications corporations AT&T and Verizon on Wednesday.
Airlines are concerned that the transmission of 5G signals could interfere with navigation systems, particularly those used in bad weather, and cause safety issues when planes approach the runway.
Government Immediate Intervention Is Needed
In a letter sent to concerned government officials on Monday, the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Jet Blue, along with heads of UPS and FedEx, appealed to concerned government agencies to take necessary actions to prevent major disruptions, according to a CBS report.
"Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies," including vaccine distribution, which is crucial in managing the rising number of COVID-19 infections in the country.
"Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and the shipping public will essentially be grounded," the companies stated in the letter.
The letter was addressed to National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Stephen Dickson, and Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, as per NBC News.
Two major plane manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, expressed the same concerns in a joint warning. According to the group of airline companies, the airline manufacturers mentioned that there are "huge swathes of the operating fleet that may need to be indefinitely grounded." The lack of operational wide-body aircraft could lead to "tens of thousands of Americans" stranded overseas.
Airlines Accused Of Distorting Facts
On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it had cleared around 45% of the US commercial fleet to perform low-visibility landings in several airports where 5G C-band will be deployed, as per BBC report.
The FAA added that it had approved "two radio altimeter models that are installed in a wide variety of Boeing and Airbus planes."
But the regulating body in charge of aviation safety in the United States said that flights at some airports may still be disrupted even with the new approvals.
Phone companies have spent tens of billions of dollars on upgrading their communication technology to roll out the 5G technology, which will provide subscribers with much faster internet services and better connectivity. However, due to the aviation industry's concerns, there have already been many delays, with launch dates in December and earlier this month also being pushed back.
Earlier, US wireless industry group CTIA has claimed that 5G technology is safe and accused the aviation industry of fear-mongering and distorting facts.
In late 2020, the RTCA, a US organization that produces technical guidance on aviation issues, published a report on the 5G matter.
The report said that the technology has "potential for broad impacts to aviation operations in the United States, including the possibility of catastrophic failures leading to multiple fatalities, in the absence of appropriate mitigations."
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