The 10 biggest airlines in the United States have warned the government of catastrophic flight disruptions that could occur if 5G is used near airports.
According to the airlines, flight disruptions could occur due to technology interference and that “trade from the land will grind to a halt and cause economic calamity’ if Verizon and AT&T deploy more segments of their new 5G mobile internet technology.
The letter submitted on Tuesday, January 18 is in anticipation of Verizon and AT&T ‘s plan to install more segments of new 5G mobile internet technology around/in airports.
The airlines executives urged the administration of President Joe Biden, to prohibit 5G wireless transmissions near certain airports, warning of a possible aviation-industry meltdown.
In the letter to the US Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg and other top United States federal officials, the airlines asked the government to prohibit 5G transmissions within 2 miles (3.2km) of runways at affected airports. High-speed 5G internet uses C-band frequencies close to those used by aircraft to measure their altitude.
The airlines say the technology can interfere with the instruments and create serious safety hazards. The airlines warned the new C-Band 5G service set to begin on Wednesday could render a significant number of widebody aircraft unusable and “could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas” and cause “chaos” for US flights.
In anc excerpt of the letter, the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, UPS Airlines, Alaska Air, Atlas Air, JetBlue Airways and FedEx Express and others, said:
“Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the travelling and shipping public will essentially be grounded. To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt.”