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Major airlines decide to cancel or change flights to US over 5G dispute

jetliner comes in for landing at the Dubai International Airport
Posted at 10:06 AM, Jan 19, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-19 11:31:15-05

Major international airlines have canceled flights heading to the U.S. or changed the planes they're using. The moves Wednesday represented the latest complication in a dispute over concerns that 5G mobile phone service could interfere with aircraft technology.

Some airlines said they were warned that the Boeing 777 was particularly affected. It was not clear how disruptive the cancellations would be.

Several airlines said they would try to merely use different planes to maintain their service. The cancellations came a day after AT&T and Verizon said they would postpone new wireless service near some U.S. airports.

The Boeing 777, which is seen as potentially being particularly impacted, is a long-range, wide-body aircraft. As CBS News reported, two Japanese carriers named the aircraft as being affected by 5G signals and made cancellations and changes to their flight schedules.

As The Guardian reported, Air India also announced cancellations for flights to Chicago, Newark, New York and San Francisco "citing deployment of the 5G communications” as the reason. The airline said it would try and use other aircraft for U.S. routes.

Airlines including Germany's Lufthansa and Korean Air also made changes to flights, switching out aircraft in response to a notice from Boeing that 5G signals could interfere with the radio altimeter on a Boeing 777, Reuters reported.