Dubai’s esteem flight carrier Emirates, along with others rushed earlier this week to either cancel or reschedule flights to the United States on the eve of a 5G wireless rollout that triggered safety concerns, even though wireless carriers mentioned that they will delay some parts of deployment, according to media reports. Additionally, Emirates will be the larger aircraft for Los Angeles and New York and will keep flying the 777 to Washington, which is not affected.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has 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. Bot AT&T, along with Verizon announced that they would delay turning on some 5G towers near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights. Some others also mentioned that more cancellations were likely unless the FAA issued new formal guidance in the wake of the wireless announcements.
Emirates announced the suspension of flights to nine US destinations from January 19, the same day when the 5G deployments are planned. Emirates flights to New York’s JFK, Los Angeles and Washington DC will continue to operate. Japan’s two major airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines, said they would curtail Boeing 777 flights.
ANA also mentioned that it was cancelling or changing the aircraft used on some U.S. flights while Japan Airlines said that it would use the 777 on U.S. mainland routes until safety is confirmed. Additionally, the airlines mentioned that they were acting in response to a notice from Boeing that 5G signals may interfere with the radio altimeter on the 777, leading to restrictions.