If you had to guess the No. 1 worry for airline execs right now, what would you say? Omicron lowering holiday travel demand? Rude passengers refusing to mask up?
The answer, in fact, is not at all related to Covid: What the industry is most concerned about, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told senators last week, is the arrival of a new 5G wireless service from AT&T and Verizon on Jan. 5. The aviation sector has been arguing that this launch will interfere with key cockpit systems and lead to major disruptions for travelers in the new year.
- United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that the 5G rollout could delay, divert, or cancel ~4% of daily flights.
- The trade group Airlines for America projected 5G-related delays will cost passengers $1.6 billion annually.
Why can’t 5G and cockpits get along?
Airline execs say 5G signals, which operate in a range of radio frequencies called the C-band, could mess with the cockpit systems that are used to track a plane’s altitude and help with landings in bad weather. So, in a situation where those systems are interfered with and dense fog rolls into Chicago, landings at O’Hare might be deemed unsafe, which would then wreak scheduling havoc across the country.
In response to these concerns, telecom leaders are playing the world’s smallest violin. Wireless companies paid at least $81 billion for the rights to this C-band, and they’re not going to let airline execs ruin their much-hyped push into next-gen wireless networks…especially when they consider those concerns unfounded.
- “The aviation industry’s fearmongering relies on completely discredited information and deliberate distortions of fact,” Nick Ludlum, senior vice president at wireless trade group CTIA, said.
Looking ahead…telecom and aviation leaders are locked in high-stakes negotiations with the White House and regulators over a deal that would dim 5G signal power near airports. In the meantime, airlines are warily prepping for flight restrictions.—NF
Taken from
Morning Brew