The impact 5G is having on airlines

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Hundreds of international flights into the US are being cancelled Due to 5G concern, but how is the shift to stronger and faster cell phone infrastructure affecting airlines?

The switch to 5G is one that almost anyone with a cell phone would be excited for, but the changes carriers will have to make on cell towers could eliminate a vital safety tool pilots use to land planes all across the country.

“The challenge is, the frequency band that those new networks are going to be operating on are adjacent on the electro magnetic spectrum to the frequencies used by a piece of aviation equipment called a radar altimeter,” said Beacon Group Vice President David Max Korzen.

The radar altimeter is a critical tool that pilots use to tell how far away they are from the ground.

“It has the potential to confuse the radar altimeter and create a very dangerous situation when you’re coming in to land,” said Korzen

That potential danger has led to hundreds of cancelled international flights, and cell carriers like AT&T and Verizon temporarily delaying the activation of 5G on some towers around certain airports.

We’ve reached out to the Birmingham Airport to learn if the move to 5G has or will affect them, but have not heard back.

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