Ilya Nouberge/Reuters/File
Passengers are silhouetted at the Delta Sky Club as planes park at the gate in front of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of Independence Day, July 1, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It’s reflected.
new york
CNN
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A deadline for airlines to install the latest technology on their planes is looming, potentially cutting some flights during the busiest weekend of the year.
On July 1, wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon are scheduled to begin operating 5G cellular networks at higher power levels near U.S. airports, ending the phase-in period.
While this change could improve 5G performance in and around airports, it could also lead to radio interference impacting aircraft that are not yet equipped to handle the signal.
Specifically, 5G signals could affect devices known as radar altimeters. Radar altimeters reflect radio waves off the ground to inform pilots of their height above the ground. Radar altimeters are especially important for landings in bad weather or other low-visibility conditions, where other methods of measuring aircraft altitude may be compromised.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week that while more than 80% of the U.S. domestic aircraft fleet has been retrofitted, “a significant number of aircraft” still have not been retrofitted. Most of the best aircraft are operated by foreign airlines, he said in a letter to the industry group Airlines for America. But he cautioned that failure to complete the transition generally could lead to travel disruptions, including delays and cancellations.
“Passengers should not bear the brunt of an airline’s failure to equip enough aircraft to safely operate in a 5G C-band environment,” Buttigieg said in a letter obtained by CNN. Airlines have failed to make realistic schedule adjustments in response to not being 5G ready.
Several U.S. airlines told CNN on Thursday that they were able to meet the deadline. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines said their fleets have already been fully upgraded, and a United Airlines spokesperson said the airline expects “this work on its mainline fleet to be completed by July 1. ” he said.
Delta Air Lines announced that due to issues with its supplier, about 190 of its narrow-body planes are still equipped with outdated radar altimeters and will miss the July 1 deadline. It added that all wide-body aircraft will be equipped with upgraded equipment by the deadline.
A Delta spokesperson said acknowledging the issue could limit flights affected by severe weather, but the airline expects “the impact to operations will be minimal.” He said there was.
“Flight safety is never an issue and Delta Air Lines complies with all directives and regulations,” the airline said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the regional airline association said most of its members’ aircraft were refurbished before last fall’s deadline, and there are plans to refurbish the remaining aircraft as well.
Saturday’s decision by wireless carriers to ramp up 5G network operations near airports comes after a voluntary one-year delay by wireless providers to give airlines time to refurbish their aircraft. It was conducted. The delay followed earlier delays negotiated by wireless carriers and the airline industry, which had raised widespread concerns that 5G signals could impact air travel.
The deadline comes after a week of major weather-related flight disruptions that have begun to calm down, with the exception of United Airlines.
Buttigieg previously told CNN that Friday “is going to be the busiest day of this holiday travel weekend,” adding, “It could be the busiest day of air travel since the pandemic.”
CNN’s Gregory Wallace contributed reporting.
