5G airport issues: Which have been affected?

Flights to major US airports have been suspended by several large carriers

A Dreamliner 787-10 arriving from Los Angeles pulls up to a gate at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. Federal safety officials are directing operators of some Boeing planes to adopt extra procedures when landing on wet or snowy runways near impending 5G service because, they say, interference from the wireless networks could mean that the planes need more room to land. (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The impending rollout of 5G wireless technology has played havoc with air travel, with a number of major carriers announcing suspensions and disruptions.

The suspensions have affected several typically busy US airports. Emirates, Air India, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways each announced suspensions.

Emirates airlines and others announced it would suspend flights to a number of major US airports. The major travel hubs impacted so far are:

• Boston Logan International Airport
• Chicago’s O’Hare
• Dallas Fort Worth
• Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental
• Newark
• Orlando
• San Francisco
• Seattle

Follow our live blog on the 5G travel disruptions here

Other airlines announced similar suspensions that include those airports. Air India said it was suspending flights between Delhi and San Francisco, Chicago, and JFK, as well as between Mumbai and Newark.

United Airlines, for its part, directed angry customers to reach out to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to lodge their complaints. Other airlines, including Delta, said they were monitoring the situation and could face delays, CNN reported.

At least two major telecom companies, AT&T and Verizon, said they would delay 5G towers near airports for two weeks, as the government and airlines work to reach a solution.

The issue with 5G internet centres around certain frequencies the technology uses, which could impact aircraft measurement tools, including altitude readings and instruments that allow pilots to fly in areas of low visibility.