Major international airlines rushed to rejig or cancel flights to the United States ahead of a 5G wireless rollout on Wednesday that has triggered safety concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay parts of the deployment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had warned that potential 5G interference could affect height readings that play a key role in bad-weather landings on some jets and airlines say the Boeing 777 is among models initially in the spotlight.
Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would pause the 5G rollout near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights or switched aircraft models.
The airline added that this suspension would be in force until further notice.
Emirates, Air India, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines all announced service cuts citing the issue in the following Airports:
Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Miami (MIA), Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA).
Emirates
Emirates said it would suspend flights into nine US airports: Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Fort Worth, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, Miami, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle. It said it would continue flying into New York’s John F. Kennedy airport, the Los Angeles airport and Washington Dulles.
“We are working closely with aircraft manufacturers and the relevant authorities to alleviate operational concerns, and we hope to resume our US services as soon as possible,” Emirates said in its statement.
Air India
Air India said it would suspend service between Delhi Airport and San Francisco, Chicago and JFK. It will also suspend a Mumbai to Newark flight.
It will continue to fly into Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport.
Delta Airlines
On Tuesday evening, Delta Air Lines (DAL) said it is planning for the possibility of weather-related cancellations as early as Wednesday due to the new 5G service in the vicinity of dozens of US airports.
It also said, “Telecom companies agreed Tuesday to limit the scope of Wednesday’s planned 5G deployment and will delay implementation around certain U.S. airports.
While this is a positive development toward preventing widespread disruptions to flight operations, some flight restrictions may remain.”
ANA and Japan Airlines
Both ANA and Japan Airlines said they canceled some flights to the US scheduled to use Boeing 777 aircraft, but will operate some flights using Boeing 787s instead.
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