Airbus and Boeing concerned about 5G

Airbus and Boeing expressed “concern” about possible disruption of their aircraft’s instruments by 5G, in a letter to the US Department of Transportation, Airbus said Tuesday.

“We confirm that Airbus Americas Managing Director Jeff Knittel and CEO of Boeing, David Calhoun, co-signed a letter to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, detailing the aviation industry’s shared concerns over the deployment of 5G in the United States,” an Airbus spokesperson said to AFP.

“Airbus and Boeing are working with other players in the aviation industry in the United States to understand the potential interference of 5G with radio altimeters,” the source said.

For its part, Boeing noted that “the aviation industry is focused on a comprehensive assessment and response to possible 5G interference with radio altimeters.”

“We are cooperating with aviation authorities, government officials, airlines and representative industry groups to ensure the safety of aircraft operations around the world,” Boeing added, in a statement to AFP.

This reinforces the pressure on US regulators in a case that pits the airline sector against mobile phone operators.

This is not the first time that this issue has arisen: in France, the authorities recommended last February to turn off 5G mobile telephones onboard aircraft.

The “signal interference by a wave of close frequency and of power comparable or greater than that of radio altimeters” would cause errors “particularly critical during instrument landing phases”, noted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

It also imposed a power limitation on 5G antennas located near the 17 French airports “certified for so-called “all-weather” landing operations“.