In response to the ongoing concern over the upcoming rollout of C-band 5G technology — and the potential impact such technology could have on flight safety — Emirates Airlines announced that it would be indefinitely suspending flights to Boston’s Logan International Airport and some other U.S. airports.
“Due to operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the US at certain airports, Emirates will be suspending flights to the following US destinations from 19 January 2022 until further notice: Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Miami (MIA), Newark (EWR), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO) and Seattle (SEA),” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Customers holding tickets with the final destination to any of the above will not be accepted at the point of origin,” the statement continued, noting that Emirates flights to New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington D.C. (IAD) would continue to operate as scheduled.
“Emirates regrets any inconvenience caused. 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 added.
This announcement was the latest in a chaotic timeline involving the rollout of C-band 5G technology in the U.S. On Tuesday, Verizon and AT&T agreed to “voluntarily” delay the rollout of C-band 5G technology near key airports, following a warning from the country’s largest airlines that the deployment would cause “major disruption” to flights across the country. This announcement was the third time the rollout had been delayed.
“Verizon is proud to lead the nation in 5G. Tomorrow, Verizon will launch its 5G Ultra Wideband network which will enable more than 90 million Americans to experience the transformative speed, reliability and power of this game-changing network on the go or in their homes or businesses,” Verizon announced in a statement. “Americans have been clamoring for 5G and tomorrow we will deliver it. As the nation’s leading wireless provider, we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our nation’s airlines have not been able to fully resolve navigating 5G around airports, despite it being safe and fully operational in more than 40 countries. Thanks to the best team in the industry for delivering this technology which promises a revolutionary next step in wireless communications including tremendous benefits for our nation.”
“At our sole discretion we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment,” an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement.
President Joe Biden thanked the telecom giants for agreeing to delay the deployment for a third time, saying that the “agreement will avoid potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 90 percent of wireless tower deployment to occur as scheduled.”
“This agreement protects flight safety and allows aviation operations to continue without significant disruption and will bring more high-speed internet options to millions of Americans,” Biden added. “Expanding 5G and promoting competition in internet service are critical priorities of mine, and tomorrow will be a massive step in the right direction.”
The specific concerns raised by both the aerospace industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relate to potential interference of 5G with flight technology such as radio altimeters.
“[R]adio altimeters cannot be relied upon to perform their intended function if they experience interference from wireless broadband operations,” the FAA said, adding it would require “limitations prohibiting certain operations requiring radio altimeter data when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference.”
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.