US airline officials warn of ‘catastrophic’ crisis in aviation with new 5G service

US airline chiefs have warned that the introduction of a new 5G service could cause US commerce to "grind to a halt" due to possibly grounding a significant number of aircraft and might "strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas".

Warnings of an impending "catastrophic" crisis in aviation came in a letter sent to White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Steve Dickson and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Reuters reported Monday.

"Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded," the letter, signed by the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Jet Blue, as well as freight and parcel carriers UPS and FedEx, said.

They warned new C-Band 5G technology could interfere with critical airplane instruments such as radio altimeters - which judge the distance from the ground to the bottom of the flying vessel - and have an impact on low-visibility operations.

"This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays," the letter cautioned, adding a call for urgent action to be taken.

"To be blunt, the nation's commerce will grind to a halt," the executives said.

Airlines for America, the lobbying group that organized the letter, and government agencies were not immediately available for comment.