US Airline Chiefs Expect ‘Chaos’ When 5G Goes Live

According to the CEOs of Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others, there could be dire implications in the next few days as carriers AT&T and Verizon implement their new 5G technology, Reuters reported Monday (Jan. 17).

According to the airlines, the new C-Band 5G service, set to come out Wednesday, could make a lot of widebody aircrafts unusable. That could “potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas” and become chaotic for U.S. flights, according to the CEOs.

“Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded,” the CEOs wrote, per Reuters.

The letter said there could be as much as thousands of flights and hundreds of thousands of passengers subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays, and the report said the nation’s commerce “will grind to a halt.”

The letter from the airlines was addressed to White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Steve Dickson and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

There have also been reports of airlines considering whether to begin canceling flights as of Wednesday.

According to the FAA, it had cleared around 45% of U.S. commercial airplane flights to perform low-visibility landings at airports where the 5G C-Band will be deployed, and there’s likely to be more approved before Wednesday comes. That said, Reuters writes that the airlines’ list didn’t include many large airports.

It’s not the first time the issue has come up – there’s been a back and forth around the rollout of 5G for weeks now.

PYMNTS writes that AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the rollout until Wednesday from an earlier date, though it was still likely there would be delays. The FAA wanted the time to look into safety concerns, in addition to tailoring things to protect from signal interference.

See also: 5G Deal Won’t Stop All Flight Disruptions, Report Says

One of the FAA’s worries has been that new cell signals could interfere with cockpit safety systems — though wireless companies have said that’s not likely.