On Monday, the CEOs of major US passenger and cargo carriers warned of a “catastrophic” aviation problem on Wednesday, when AT&T and Verizon are due to launch new 5G services.
Airlines have warned that the new C-Band 5G service could render many widebody flights obsolete and “strand tens of thousands of Americans offshore.”
The vast majority of travelers and shippers will be grounded unless key hubs are authorized to fly, wrote the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and others.
Potential interference, according to the FAA, might impair sensitive aviation instruments like altimeters and have an impact on low-visibility operations.
This means that on a day like yesterday, over 1,100 planes would be canceled, diverted, or delayed, affecting over 100,000 passengers.
They stated in the letter, which was also signed by UPS Airlines, Atlas Air, JetBlue Airways, and FedEx Express, that “action is urgent.” To put it bluntly, the country’s business will come to a halt.
The letter, which was seen by Reuters, was sent to White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Steve Dickson, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
The organization that organized the letter, Airlines for America, declined to comment. The government agencies did not respond right away.
On Jan. 3, AT&T and Verizon, which acquired nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in an$80 billion auction last year, agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports and other measures to prevent potential interference for six months. They also decided to postpone deployment for two weeks, until Wednesday, averting an aviation safety impasse for the time being.
Officials told Reuters that the CEOs of major airlines, as well as Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun, spoke with Buttigieg and Dickson on Sunday to warn them of the impending catastrophe.
The airlines are requesting that 5G be implemented across the country, except approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) of airport runways at a few major airports.
To minimize major operational interruption for air passengers, shippers, the supply chain, and the delivery of vital medical supplies, immediate intervention is required.
Flight restrictions will not be confined to bad weather operations, according to the carriers. Multiple modern aviation safety systems will be ruled useless, posing far more dangerous than previously thought… Large swaths of the operating fleet may need to be grounded forever, according to aircraft manufacturers.
The carriers also called for measures to ensure that 5G be deployed except where towers are too close to airport runways until the FAA can figure out how to do it safely and without causing catastrophic disruption.
The FAA announced on Sunday that around 45 percent of the US commercial jet fleet has been certified to undertake low-visibility landings at many of the airports where the 5G C-band will be deployed beginning on Wednesday. The airlines pointed out on Monday that the list omitted several major airports.
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