Air India cancelled eight flights on India-US routes from Wednesday onwards due to the deployment of 5G internet in North America which could interfere with aircraft’s navigation systems. Air India which serves four US destinations, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Newark with Boeing 777s, said those flights would be curtailed or face changes in aircraft type starting from Wednesday.
These eight Air India flights are: Delhi-New York, New York-Delhi, Delhi-Chicago, Chicago-Delhi, Delhi- San Francisco, San Francisco-Delhi, Delhi-Newark, and Newark-Delhi. “Due to deployment of the 5G communications in the USA, we will not be able to operate the following flights of January 19, 2022: AI101/102 DEL/JFK/DEL, AI173/174 DEL/SFO/DEL, AI127/126 DEL/ORD/DEL AI191/144 BOM/EWR/BOM. Please standby for further updates,” said Air India, the only Indian carrier that flies to the US. Total three carriers — American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Air India — currently operate direct flights between India and the US. Officials said that the main concern is that C-band frequencies being used for 5G might impact the functioning of radio altimeter on airplanes.
The equipment which basically measure the height of the aircraft above the ground uses frequencies close to C-band used for 5G.
The airplane equipment also provides data for the navigation systems. 5G is the next generation of mobile internet connection and it relies on greater use of radio signals.