Delta Air Lines announced Thursday that it has completed modernization of its fleet to protect key equipment from wireless signal interference 5Gthus filling a hole that could have disrupted flights in low visibility.
The airline said all of its aircraft in active service are now equipped with radio altimeters protected against interference. “This means that no Delta aircraft will be subject to additional weather constraints”, said a Delta spokesperson. As of late June, 190 of Delta’s approximately 900 planes did not have improved altimeters. These devices use radio signals to accurately measure an aircraft’s height above the ground.
The problem forced Delta to consider rerouting these planes to avoid situations of low visibility while waiting for new parts from a supplier, although the airline said Thursday that it got through the summer without notable problems with the altimeters. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been pushing airlines to upgrade their planes before the summer season, and most have done so. Among the largest U.S. carriers, only Atlanta-based Delta missed a July 1 deadline to upgrade all altimeters before AT&T, Verizon and other carriers wireless telephony do not increase the power of their 5G C-band signals. flight disruptions, which some had expressed their concerns, however, did not materialize.
Some aviation experts and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) believe that C-band signals are too close to the frequencies used by radio altimeters. The Federal Communications Commission, which awarded 5G licenses to wireless companies, said there was no risk of interference.
