Airlines Warn of Possible Flight Delays with the Launch of 5G Service

Airline and aviation officials are issuing serious warnings of increased flight delays and difficulties with landings during poor weather conditions, as the wireless industry gears up to launch the 5G service come January 2022.

According to aviation officials, the service could potentially hinder the apparatus on aircrafts that records altitude, causing delays and hampering landings during inclement weather. However, the wireless industry has refuted the claims.

Telecommunication giants such as AT&T and Verizon have proposed possible power reductions as a safety measure. However, the aviation sector deems it too “inadequate” as the 5G launch date draws close. At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines Co., said, “If you were to ask us what our number one concern is in the near term, it is the deployment of 5G.”

According to Airlines for America, the implementation of 5G could spell delays for about 350,000 flights at worst. As the issue makes its rounds in the Senate, Nick Ludlum, a Senior Vice President at CTIA said, “5G operates safely and without causing harmful interference to aviation operations in nearly 40 countries around the world.” He contended that the airline sector’s claims are based on “completely discredited information and deliberate distortions of fact.”

The issue continues to intensify especially for the aviation industry which has faced a series of setbacks ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.