The passengers of airlines America, which suffered thousands of weather-related flight delays this week, could face further disruption as wireless providers turn on new sistemas 5G near the main airports of the country.
Aviation groups have warned for years that 5G signals could interfere with aircraft equipment, especially devices that use radio waves to measure distance above the ground and that They are essential when planes land.
Predictions that the interference would cause massive grounding of flights fell short when telecommunications companies began rolling out the new service last year. They then agreed to limit the power of signals around airports, giving airlines an extra year to upgrade their planes.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently told airlines that flights could be disrupted because a small portion of the domestic fleet has not been upgraded to protect against radio interference.
The major US airlines said they were ready. American, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier and United reported that all of their planes already have height-measuring devices — called radio altimeters — that are shielded from 5G interference.
The big exception is Delta Air Lines. Delta says it has 190 planes that still lack upgraded altimeters because their supplier didn’t provide them on time. The airline did not expect to cancel any flights due to the problem and said it planned to route the 190 planes carefully to limit the risk of cancellations or diversions.
JetBlue did not respond to requests for comment, but told The Wall Street Journal it expected to modernize 17 Airbus jets by October, with a possible “limited impact” a few days in Boston.
FUENTE: AP
