Emirates Airline to Pause Flights to U.S. Over 5G Concerns
The United States of America, is one of the most popular tourist and commercial destinations in the world, as it has one of the world’s largest economies. Having stated that, the United States has always been on top of new projects in a range of areas, with telecommunications being the most recent. 5G networks were supposed to go live across the country this year, with the goal of making businesses more productive and giving consumers access to more information faster than ever before. This would allow for more frequent smart connectivity and the development of an integrated system of networks that intertwine to provide people with automated services.
However, as history has shown, technology can be a double-edged sword, and if not perfected, serious problems can arise. According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 5G interference with the aircraft’s radio altimeter could prohibit the engine and braking systems from switching to landing mode, preventing the plane from stopping on the runway.
This would be a serious problem that would jeopardize the safety of airline passengers flying into affected U.S. cities like Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco, and Seattle. Passengers will only be accepted for travel to one of three locations: New York (JFK), Los Angeles, or Washington, DC (IAD).
In light of this, Emirates Airline has said that it will ban flights to the mentioned destinations for the safety of its customers until the FAA determines that the deployment of the 5G network around airports is safe. In addition, major overseas airlines including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have also canceled flights into the U.S. over concerns about 5G deployment.
As the FAA works to resolve the problem, addressing 5G navigation around airports is the top priority right now in order to get flights back to the affected destinations as quickly as possible.
5G networks are undeniably a significant step forward in terms of development and interconnection, elevating telecoms and paving the way for a positive future in which the concept of smart cities may be easily implemented. However, as we have seen in the aviation business, if aircraft and 5G networks are not synchronized, this initiative may represent a problem. For this reason, ensuring that the 5G network does not interfere with aircraft during landing is a must!
