5G might delay your flight this weekend. Heres why

It hasn’t been a great week for traveling. Yesterday more than 1,600 flights were canceled and over 5,800 were delayed as strong weather hit the Northeast (via USA Today). Then later this week, the busiest travel period for the Independence Day holiday since before the pandemic is set to begin.

While 43.2 million Americans are expected to make their trips by road over the July 4 holidays, 4.17 million Americans are set to take to the skies. But unfortunately, some of those with flights this weekend could face delays or cancellations. The reason? 5G cellular networks. Here’s what you need to know:

  • What’s happening? On July 1, U.S. cellular carriers like AT&T and Verizon will be able to use new 5G frequencies known as 5G C-band. The problem is 5G C-band can interfere with the radio altimeters on a plane, which lets a plane know how high it is in the sky by bouncing a radio signal off the ground. Last year, U.S. cellular carriers agreed to delay their use of 5G C-band while airlines rushed to install new radio altimeters on their planes. However, some planes still haven’t been retrofitted with the new altimeters and those planes may be affected when the cellular carriers flip the 5G C-band switch this Saturday.
  • What does this mean for flights? If planes haven’t been updated with the new radio altimeters, from Saturday their older equipment may be impacted by the 5G C-band, especially if there is bad weather in the plane’s area. If that’s the case, the flight may need to be delayed or canceled.
  • How many planes are missing the new radio altimeters? A good amount. As Reuters reported, in a letter sent last week from U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Airlines for America (A4A), which represents major U.S. airlines, Buttigieg revealed that more than 80% of domestic planes had been updated with the new equipment. Unfortunately, that still leaves nearly one out of every five planes without the new altimeters.
  • Is it just domestic planes that are affected? No. International planes flying into the country are also affected. As Buttigieg wrote, “we continue to see a significant number of aircraft still awaiting retrofit, including many operated by foreign air carriers. This means on bad-weather, low-visibility days in particular, there could be increased delays and cancellations.”
  • Why haven’t all the planes been updated yet? Despite airlines having known about this problem for at least a year, demand for the new radio altimeters was so great the supply chain couldn’t keep up with orders, leading to delays, according to Airlines for America.
  • So will my flight be delayed or canceled if the plane doesn’t have an updated radio altimeter? It could be. Planes without the updated radio altimeter can still fly from July 1, but if the weather along its route is poor, the airline may have no choice but to delay or cancel the flight. In his letter to airlines, Buttigieg urged carriers that have not updated all their plains “to act now to adjust your schedules proactively . . . Carriers should consider how many of their aircraft still need to be retrofitted when setting and adjusting schedules to avoid causing consumers to rely on an unrealistic published schedule to their detriment.”
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