Air India has curtailed some of its flights to the United States as a result of the launch of 5G internet service in the country starting today. Air India, which operates Boeing 777s to serve four U.S. destinations, announced on Wednesday that those flights would be curtailed or that the aircraft type would be changed as of Wednesday.
“Due to the deployment of 5G communications in the United States, our operations to the United States from India have been curtailed/revised, with a change in aircraft type, effective January 19, 2022,” Air India tweeted on Tuesday.”
“We will be unable to operate the following flights on the 19th of January, due to the deployment of 5G communications in the United States:
Ai 101 and 102 DEL/JFK/DEL, AI173 and 174 DEL/SFO/DEL, and Ai 127 and 126 DEL-ORD-DEL are some of the most popular routes in the world.
AI191/144 BOM/EWR/BOM (AI191/144 BOM/EWR/BOM) Please keep checking back for updates, the company said in a follow-up tweet.
Apart from Air India, United Airlines and American Airlines are the other two carriers that operate flights between India and the US.
Implementation of 5G network:
5G should be implemented everywhere in the United States, except for within two miles of airport runways at affected airports, according to the airline industry group.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Sunday that it had approved some transponders to be safely operated within areas where 5G will be deployed, clearing “as many as 48 of the 88 airports most directly affected by 5G C-Band interference,” according to the agency’s website.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that potential 5G interference could affect height readings, which are critical in bad-weather landings on some planes. According to airlines, the Boeing 777 is among the models initially under consideration.
As an aircraft approaches the ground, radio altimeters provide precise readings of the height above the ground, which is useful for automated landings and for confirming that the jet has successfully landed before allowing reverse thrust to be applied.
Emirates, the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777, has announced that it will suspend flights to nine U.S. destinations beginning on January 19, the date set for the launch of 5G wireless services. Emirates is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777.
Emirates flights to JFK International Airport in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC will continue to operate as usual.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, the country’s two largest airlines, announced that they would reduce Boeing 777 service.
ANA announced that it would be cancelling or changing the aircraft used on some flights to and from the United States. According to a notice to passengers obtained by airline publication Skift, Japan Airlines said it would not use the 777 on U.S. mainland routes “until safety is confirmed.”