Indefinite Pause on Flights to Miami, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, & More

Emirates announced the suspension of flights to a number of destinations in the United States, saying that the deployment of 5G network architecture causes the company concern. The company gave no timeline as to when service could be expected to return, only saying "we hope to resume our US services as soon as possible." 

The list of locations includes 9 fairly high profile destinations as outlined in the company's statement on January 18th. "“Due to operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the US at certain airports, Emirates will be suspending flights to the following US destinations from 19 January 2022 until further notice: Boston, Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, Miami, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle,” said Emirates. "Customers holding tickets with the final destination to any of the above will not be accepted at the point of origin." Emirates says that flights to New York's JFK, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C would continue on as usual. 

“Emirates regrets any inconvenience caused. We are working closely with aircraft manufacturers and the relevant authorities to alleviate operational concerns, and we hope to resume our US services as soon as possible.” The move came as a surprise after both Verizon and AT&T both announced they would delay activation around a number of airports, assumed to include the same ones outlined in the Emirates statement.

Verizon released a statement on the eve of 5G rollout across the country, saying "...Verizon will launch its 5G Ultra Wideband network which will enable more than 90 million Americans to experience the transformative speed, reliability and power of this game-changing network on the go or in their homes or businesses. Americans have been clamoring for 5G and tomorrow we will deliver it. As the nation’s leading wireless provider, we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and our nation’s airlines have not been able to fully resolve navigating 5G around airports, despite it being safe and fully operational in more than 40 other countries."

FMI: www.emirates.com