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By Tim Hepher, Jamie Freed and David Shepardson
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Global airlines cancelled or rejigged
dozens of flights as the on-off rollout of 5G mobile in the
United States triggered what one airline pilot called a
"nightmare" of scheduling for carriers grappling with
fast-changing airplane restrictions.
A decision by two U.S. wireless carriers to delay switching
on the powerful new telecom masts near key airports, following
protests from airlines about possible interference, came too
late to avoid a ripple of cancellations on Wednesday.
Airlines across Asia and several in the Middle East and
Europe said they were cancelling some flights or switching
models, with much of the initial disruption hitting the Boeing
777, for decades a workhorse of long-distance air travel.
Dubai's Emirates, the largest user of the Boeing mini-jumbo,
kicked off a slew of industry cancellations or aircraft changes
late on Tuesday, saying it would suspend nine U.S. routes.
The airline's veteran president Tim Clark told CNN the
carrier had not been aware of the extent of the problem until
Tuesday and called it "one of the most delinquent, utterly
irresponsible" episodes he had seen, a CNN reporter tweeted https://twitter.com/petemuntean/status/1483790509340569600?s=20.
The disruption caps a weeks-long dispute between airlines
and telecom companies over the speed of deployment of 5G mobile
services in the United States, mirrored by tensions between
regulators of the economically sensitive industries.
U.S. airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
have warned that the frequencies and transmission strength being
deployed in the United States could interfere with the precise
height readings needed for bad-weather landings on some
jetliners.
European regulators say no risks have been found elsewhere.
AT&T and Verizon Communications agreed https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/biden-administration-talks-head-off-5g-aviation-standoff-2022-01-18
on Tuesday to delay turning on 5G near key airports but are
pressing ahead with the wider U.S. deployment on Wednesday of
services designed to serve tens of millions of people.
Late on Tuesday, the FAA began updating 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 previously issued by the regulator.
Even so, dozens of flights had to be cancelled or modified,
pushing shares in European long-haul carriers down about 2%.
"The last-minute postponement happened too late to stop the
crews being sent out for today's (return) flight. It just made
it a nightmare," said a pilot with a major European airline.
OFF SEASON
Analysts said a slump in long-haul flying caused by pandemic
border restrictions would limit the immediate impact, however.
"It's the off season, so in January or February airlines
will be losing money and that's not counting the impact of the
pandemic. At the moment they are fighting for survival," said
James Halstead, managing partner at UK-based Aviation Strategy.
"Where it might hurt is that some airlines are using the
same long-haul aircraft to carry freight," he added.
Korean Air Lines said it had switched planes on
six U.S. passenger and cargo flights, Taiwan's China Airlines
rescheduled some flights and Hong Kong's Cathay
Pacific said it would change aircraft types if needed.
Japan's All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, said
they would curtail Boeing 777 flights following a notice from
Boeing that 5G signals may interfere with the radio altimeter.
Radio altimeters give precise readings of the height above
the ground on approach and help with automated landings, as well
as verifying a jet has landed before allowing reverse thrust.
Boeing said it was working with all parties on a
"data-driven solution for the long-term that ensures all
commercial airplane models can operate safely as 5G is
deployed."
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 the older 767, according to data from FlightRadar24.
In other disruption, Germany's Lufthansa said it
had cancelled one flight and was switching aircraft on others.
Air India said its four U.S. 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.
British Airways switched its daily flight to Los Angeles to
an Airbus A380 from the usual Boeing 777 service and
cancelled or modified other U.S. flights.
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.
Not all 777 flights have been hit. Emirates said it would
keep flying the 777 to Washington, which is not so far affected.
Qatar Airways and Air France said U.S. routes were
operating as scheduled and Israel's El Al and Abu Dhabi's Etihad
Airways said their services had not been affected. Kenya Airways
said it was taking precautions outlined by Boeing and the FAA.
(Additional reporting by Ed Copley and Josephine Mason in
London, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai,
Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Lilian Wagdy and Moataz Mohamed in
Cairo, Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru, Duncan Miriri in
Nairoboi
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Richard Pullin and Mark Potter)
