Air India to curtail India-US operations due to 5G roll-out; Details inside
According to the airlines, when 5G signals are installed near runways, they may interfere with critical safety equipment that pilots rely on to take off and land in bad weather.
FollowAir India has reduced its flights from India to the United States in anticipation of the deployment of 5G communications by the United States. Taking to the micro-blogging site, the airline said due to the introduction of 5G connectivity in the United States, our operations to the United States from India will be curtailed or revised with a change in aircraft type beginning January 19, 2022. It added an update in this respect would be provided as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, United Airlines has stated that the current US government's 5G rollout plan will have a devastating impact on aviation, affecting an estimated 1.25 million United passengers, at least 15,000 flights, and much-needed goods and tonnes of cargo travelling through more than 40 of the country's largest airports annually.
According to the airlines, when 5G signals are installed near runways, they may interfere with critical safety equipment that pilots rely on to take off and land in bad weather. It went on to say that they will not compromise on safety. However, governments in other nations have successfully developed laws to assure the safe implementation of 5G technology, and they are just requesting that the US government do the same.
The airlines also stated that radio altimeters on certain aircraft, which provide data to other safety systems such as autopilot, heads-up displays, terrain warning, and pitch control, will be compromised, resulting in significant restrictions on 787s, 777s, 737s, and regional aircraft in major cities such as Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.
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Furthermore, according to the statement, it will result in not only hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations and disruptions for customers across the industry in 2022 but also the suspension of cargo flights into these locations, causing a negative ripple effect on an already fragile supply chain. They urged the Biden administration to move fast and use the same common-sense measures that have worked so successfully elsewhere.
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