- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says that delays in upgrading equipment on 20 percent of aeroplanes in the US could cause delays and cancellations after 1st July.
- This is because of concerns that 5G C-band internet could interrupt radio altimeter instruments in older model aircraft.
- South Africans flying out of the US could face delays at American airports. Likewise South Africans flying to the US could face delays upon arrival.
The latest generation of mobile internet technology is expected to have an adverse effect on the busy summer flight period in the United States. This period is usually incredibly chaotic in the country, with over 20 000 flights cancelled per day in 2022.
A recent move to reallocate satellite TV frequencies for the use of 5G across the country has fueled fears that the powerful internet tech could adversely affect the radio altimeters of older aircraft.
These altimeters give pilots information on how high planes are flying and are essential instruments during poor-weather landings, when pilots are unable to see terrain or visual cues out of their windows.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that there is a risk that 5G C-band spectrum could interfere with radio altimeters, disrupting altitude sensors and thus endangering the aeroplanes.
In 2022, telecoms Verizon and AT&T agreed to temporarily halt plans to launch their 5G internet near airports because of FDA pressure.
Other safety interventions include “wireless buffer zones” that have been established across an overwhelming majority of airports. These zones protect approaching plans from radio interference.
Rapidly, the FDA sought to retrofit its older planes, with Reuters reporting that around 80 percent of planes serving US airports have received updated altimeters which won’t suffer too much interference.
However, since there is still a percentage of planes that will not receive the update by the 1st July deadline, poor weather conditions will cause blockages at the airports.
“We continue to see a significant number of aircraft still awaiting retrofit, including many operated by foreign air carriers,” explained Pete Buttigieg, America Transportation Secretary, quoted by Reuters.
“This means on bad-weather, low-visibility days in particular, there could be increased delays and cancellations.”
In South Africa, only South African Airways and American firm Delta Air Lines fly directly between local airports and airports in the US.
Delta has said that all of its widebody aircraft will receive the updated altimeter. These would include the Airbus 350-900 planes, which are the only aircraft the carrier operates in South Africa.
This would mean that South African passengers flying Delta to US airports would not have to be concerned about 5G when arriving in the US.
But delays could still be expected as around 190 Delta medium to light-sized aircraft are yet to be equipped with the updated parts. Notwithstanding the rest of the planes in the US that are not expected to be upgraded before 1st July 2023.
South African passengers could face delays when travelling to the US, especially during poor weather. Most of these will be in the air, as pilots either go towards holding patterns or sit on the plane as it diverts to other airports.
Likewise, passengers travelling from the US to South Africa could also experience delays post-1st July, as airports wait for inclement weather to clear.
Delta runs three weekly flights from Johannesburg to Atlanta, while SAA flies New York and Washington Dulles. The rest of the flights to American cities from South Africa have layovers in European capitals.
Earlier this year, Charles de Gaulle International Airport in France suffered delays and cancellations into or out of the United States due to problems with FAA computers.
