US Flights Risk Disruption Due to 5G Deadline on July 1st

According to The Wall Street Journal, starting from July 1st, planes lacking retrofitted sensitive radar altimeters will not be able to land in low visibility across the US. This requirement may cause inconvenience for travelers. It is important to note that this is not related to any existing safety concerns. The deadline is in line with the expansion of 5G networks by US wireless companies, which could potentially cause more interference for aircraft without the required equipment.

The 5G push comes after years of delays and discussions between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over concerns about the effects of signals on the radio waves that estimate an aircraft’s distance from the ground. The carriers first planned to add more power to their networks in January 2022, pushed it back to July 2022, and eventually found a compromise with the FAA to resume on July 1, 2023.

About 80 percent of domestic aircraft have been updated, and some top companies still need to complete their fleets. Delta, for example, has 190 planes left to lift, while JetBlue has 17 — which the Airlines for America union blames on supply chain problems. United, Southwest and American Airlines have all said they have no remaining aircraft by the deadline. Another 65 percent of aircraft flying from international destinations to the United States have up-to-date altimeters, and airlines are willing to use these options whenever possible.

“There is a real risk of delays or cancellations,” Buttigieg said. “This is one of the biggest – probably the biggest – foreseeable issues affecting performance this summer.” The level of impact depends mainly on the weather, but luckily there won’t be any blizzards in the near future. All US aircraft will need an updated altimeter by February 2024, regardless of visibility conditions.