Airlines seek more 5G protections, warning of massive travel disruptions – By Steven Musil (CNET) / January 17, 2022
Executives urge US officials to delay deployment of the upgraded service within two miles of affected airport runways.
The chief executives of US airlines and cargo carriers on Monday warned that the new 5G wireless service set to go live this week could cause massive disruptions to travel and shipping unless implementation of the service is delayed within a two-mile radius of airport runways.
The executives asked US officials to “take whatever action necessary to ensure that 5G is deployed except when towers are too close to airport runways until the FAA can determine how that can be safely accomplished without catastrophic disruption,” according to a letter sent to Biden administration officials on Monday.
The executives warned that disruptions to airplanes’ instruments could ground “huge swaths” of the US fleet, subjecting more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers to cancellations, diversions or delays. They urged US officials to delay deployment of the service within two miles of affected airport runways.
“Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies,” they wrote in a letter to White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson and Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
