The deadline for airlines to complete 5G aircraft upgrades will not be extended beyond Juy 1st, 2023, the US Transportation Department has confirmed.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg first announced the decision in a call on Tuesday with representatives of the country's largest airlines, Reuters has reported. Buttigieg reportedly said that airlines had made progress, but urged them to work aggressively to continue retrofitting planes.
The conflict derives from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning that 5G technologies could affect sensitive aircraft instruments such as altimeters - which provide pilots with an accurate reading of the plane’s proximity to the ground, helping to minimise the risk of accidents or collisions - and thus having significant impact on flights in low-visibility atmospheric conditions. The concerns led to disruptions at some US airports in January 2022 involving international carriers.
Last year, Verizon Communications...