The heads of major airline passenger and cargo airlines warned of an impending “catastrophic” transport crisis on Wednesday, when telecommunications groups AT&T and Verizon Communications launched their new 5G services.
“The vast majority of commercial and freight transportation will not take place unless our hubs are allowed to operate,” said the heads of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others. their message to the White House, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission. “This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers may face cancellations, changes of course or delays.”
Action is urgently needed, they added in their letter, which was also signed by UPS Airlines, JetBlue Airways and FedEx Express.
“To put it bluntly, the country’s trade activities will be frozen,” they note.
Authorities in the United States have said that progress has been made in reducing the risk of flight disruptions due to 5G services, which will be operational from 19 January.
It is also worth noting that the AT&T and Verizon Communications groups managed to reach a compromise with the relevant American officials on January 3. Opera means they have agreed to delay the launch of services on new 5G networks for two weeks, as well as to reduce the installation of mobile towers near 50 airports for at least six months.
While these companies have stated that their new services do not pose a risk to aviation, the Federal Aviation Administration and aeronautics groups point out that tests have shown that altimeters can lose their reliability if the aircraft is very close to the aforementioned mobile towers.
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