5G may still affect airline travel this summer

The wireless industry and the airline industry in the US have been engaged for years now in a careful game of brinkmanship over the rollout of 5G. And, according to the US Secretary of Transportation, the situation may end up affecting some airline traffic later this summer.

“There’s a real risk of delays or cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told The Wall Street Journal this week. “This represents one of the biggest – probably the biggest – foreseeable problem affecting performance this summer.”

However, it’s not clear exactly how many flights might be rerouted or canceled. The publication reported that more than 80% of domestic US aircraft and around 65% of international aircraft flying in the country have received upgrades that can prevent interference between 5G and aircraft altimeters, according to Buttigieg. Those figures could change over the next few weeks as technicians continue to work to upgrade additional aircraft before a July 1 deadline.

Regardless, Buttigieg appears to be holding firm on his promise earlier this year to stick to that July 1 deadline. That’s the date when US wireless network operators can begin broadcasting their 5G signals across C-band midband spectrum near more than 100 US airports. Those transmissions could interfere with some older aircraft altimeters – thus forcing airline operators to upgrade their equipment.

Footing the bill

According to an estimate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this year, it will cost airline operators just $26 million to upgrade older altimeters to newer ones that aren’t affected by 5G transmissions in C-band spectrum. However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) subsequently said the cost will be more like $637.6 million.

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