Last checked at 
(Adds Lufthansa, Etihad statements, FlightRadar24 details on
diversions)
By Tim Hepher and David Shepardson
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Major international airlines rushed to
rejig or cancel flights to the United States ahead of a 5G
wireless rollout on Wednesday that has triggered safety
concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay
parts of the deployment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had warned that
potential 5G interference could affect height readings that play
a key role in bad-weather landings on some jets and airlines say
the Boeing 777 is among models initially in the spotlight.
Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would
pause the 5G rollout https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/biden-administration-talks-head-off-5g-aviation-standoff-2022-01-18
near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights or
switched aircraft models.
Late Tuesday, the FAA began updating its guidance on which
airports and aircraft models would be affected, in a move
expected to dramatically lessen the impact of the nearly 1,500
notices of 5G restrictions issued by the regulator.
The world's largest operator of the Boeing 777, Dubai's
Emirates, said earlier it would suspend flights to nine U.S.
destinations from Jan. 19, the planned date for the deployment
of 5G wireless services.
Emirates flights to New York's JFK, Los Angeles and
Washington DC will continue to operate.
Japan's two major airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan
Airlines, said they would curtail Boeing 777 flights.
ANA said it was cancelling or changing the aircraft used on
some U.S. flights.
Germany's Lufthansa said it had cancelled a flight
from Frankfurt to Miami and was switching aircraft used on some
U.S. services from Boeing 747-8 to 747-400. Subsidiary Austrian
Airlines would switch from a 777 to a 767 on its Newark service.
Korean Air Lines said it had switched away from
777s and 747-8s on six U.S. passenger and cargo flights,
Taiwan's China Airlines said it would reschedule some
flights and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said it
would deploy different aircraft types if needed.
The airlines said they were acting in response to a notice
from Boeing that 5G signals may interfere with the radio
altimeter on the 777, leading to restrictions.
A spokesperson for Boeing had no immediate comment.
The 777 last year was the second-most used widebody plane on
flights to and from U.S. airports with around 210,000 flights,
behind only the 767, according to data from FlightRadar24.
Industry sources said Boeing had issued technical advisories
noting potential interference, but that flight restrictions were
in the hands of the FAA, which has for now limited operations at
key airports unless airlines qualify for special approvals.
Radio altimeters give precise readings of the height above
the ground on approach and help with automated landings, as well
as verifying the jet has landed before allowing reverse thrust.
Air India, which serves four U.S. destinations with Boeing
777s, said those flights would be curtailed or face changes in
aircraft type starting from Wednesday.
Singapore Airlines said it had switched the
aircraft used on select U.S. routes based on guidance from
Boeing and in consultation with its regulators.
WORKHORSE JET
The announcement of cancellations came despite the wireless
carriers delaying turning on some 5G towers near key airports.
Airline industry sources said the decision had arrived too
late to affect complex aircraft and crewing decisions for some
Wednesday flights.
British Airways opted to switch aircraft on its daily flight
to Los Angeles to an Airbus A380 from the usual Boeing
777 service, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Cargo airlines AeroLogic and Polar diverted away from
Cincinnati to Atlanta, according to web tracker FlightRadar24
which said Atlanta was not subject to 5G related restrictions.
Flightradar24 said the A350 may also be used. The radio
altimeters on the two Airbus jets have been cleared while the
planemaker is still assessing its other models.
The 777 mini-jumbo is a workhorse of the long-haul travel
market that remains depressed following COVID-19, while its
freighter equivalent has reshaped the aviation route map during
the pandemic, according to a spokesperson for Flightradar24.
Not all 777 flights are affected. Emirates, which is also a
major user of the larger A380, will switch to the larger
aircraft for Los Angeles and New York but keep flying the 777 to
Washington, which is not affected.
Qatar Airways, which operates both 777s and A350s to the
United States, said all 12 of its U.S. routes were operating as
scheduled, with minor delays expected on flights from the United
States to Doha.
Israel's El Al and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said their
services had not been affected.
(Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney, Ed Copley in
London, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai,
Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Lilian Wagdy and Moataz Mohamed in
Cairo
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Richard Pullin and Mark Potter)
