Some airlines resume flights to U.S. after 5G rollout forces cancellations

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Wednesday they would resume Boeing 777 service to the United States on Thursday after announcing cancellations earlier.

Two major Japanese airlines said Wednesday they will restore flights to the United States after the deployment of 5G mobile in the United States had prompted some foreign carriers to cancel numerous U.S. bound flights.

A decision by AT&T and Verizon Communications 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.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways said Wednesday they would resume Boeing 777 service to the United States on Thursday after announcing cancellations earlier based on guidance from Boeing.

Both airlines said they had been told by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) there is no safety issue after the reduced wireless deployment.

United Airlines said Wednesday it forecast only “minor disruptions at some airports due to the remaining 5G restrictions” and praised the Biden administration’s deal with AT&T and Verizon “to avoid mass cancellations across the aviation industry.”

Airlines across Asia and several in the Middle East and Europe had 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.