Anti 5G Network Petition Appears Around Airport, FCC And FAA At The Cross Of Interests

5G antenna towers around the airport, claimed to be able to interfere with aircraft electronic devices. (photo credit: pixabay)

JAKARTA - A US trade group representing major passenger and cargo airlines asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday, December 30, to stop deploying new 5G wireless services around some airports. They also warned thousands of flights could be disrupted.

AT&T and Verizon Communications had set out on January 5 to deploy its 5G C-Band spectrum wireless service which they won in a government auction worth $80 billion. But a petition from industry group Airlines for America calls for a delay in deployments near many US airports including those in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Boston and Seattle.

The aviation industry and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have raised significant concerns that 5G could interfere with sensitive aircraft electronics such as radio altimeters, which could delay or divert flights.

"Aircraft will not be able to rely on radio altimeters for various flight procedures and thus will not be able to land at certain airports," the group said in the FCC's emergency petition, cited by Reuters.

According to reports, the wireless interference would "endanger the functioning of critical aircraft safety systems, which in turn threaten to divert or cancel thousands of flights" every day. This will disrupt "millions of passenger bookings" along with flight crew schedules and global supply chains.

The petition calls for the FCC's decision by midday Monday or the group warns it will "seek legal or other assistance" to avoid "an immediate and unacceptable security risk."

In contrast, wireless industry group CTIA says 5G is secure and its spectrum is already in use in about 40 other countries.

The CTIA said last Thursday that: "The FCC considered and rejected this claim almost two years ago after a thorough review" and the industry is still planning a rollout for 5G services on January 5.

The FAA declined to comment on the petition. The agency had been preparing to issue a further notice detailing the impact of the potential disruption but has delayed the release as intensive talks continue between the Biden administration, wireless carriers, and the aviation sector.

Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, FedEx, and other major carriers, said it wanted the FCC and FAA "to work together on practical solutions." The petition is aimed at defending the legal options if discussions do not result in an agreement.

This month, the group warned that disruption from 5G networks could cause 4% of US flights to be diverted, delayed, or canceled, and the FAA issued an airworthiness directive warning 5G disruption could result in flight diversions.

Airlines for America has said that if the FAA 5G directive takes effect in 2019, some 345.000 passenger flights and 5.400 cargo flights will face delays, diversions, or cancellations impacting 32 million passengers.

"The potential damage to the aviation industry alone is staggering," the petition said.

In November, AT&T and Verizon delayed the commercial rollout of C-band wireless services by one month until January 5 and adopted precautions to limit interference.

The aviation industry group said it wasn't enough. The aviation industry made a counter-proposal that would limit cellular transmission around airports and other critical areas.