Emirates' President, Sir Tim Clark, has criticized the roll-out of 5G in the United States after his airline was forced to cancel flights to the country at short notice. The aviation industry veteran called the roll-out utterly irresponsible during an interview with CNN's Richard Quest on this morning's episode of Quest Means Business.

Concerns over 5G aren't new as far as the aviation industry is concerned. Simple Flying first reported the issue back in December 2020, when an FCC auction of the 5G spectrum sparked some controversy. Two years have passed since, and AT&T and Verizon were ready to switch on their new 5G networks. A wave of flight cancelations from airlines worldwide meant that this has now been suspended once more.

"Utterly Irresponsible"

Speaking to CNN's Richard Quest earlier today, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark called out the US' 5G roll-out as utterly irresponsible. While the 5G issue has been ongoing since late 2020, it has only really taken center stage in the last couple of weeks. Clark picked up on this, commenting,

Somebody should have told [the government] at the time - that the risks and the dangers they placed in certain frequency uses around airfields, metropolitan fields that should have been done at the time.

Tim Clark
Tim Clark, CEO of the United Arab Emirates' flag carrier Emirates Airlines, addresses a news conference in Berlin March 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / TOBIAS SCHWARZ (Photo credit should read TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirates has canceled flights

Yesterday Emirates canceled many flights to the United States reasonably suddenly. Only flights to New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), and Washington (IAD) were spared as the Airbus A380 operates them. Explaining his own short notice cancelations, Clark said that his airline had no idea how serious the 5G issues were until yesterday morning.

Read more: 5G Has Been Around For Years: Why Is It Causing A Problem Now?

5G isn't a new challenge for Emirates, with Dubai hosting its own such network capable of incredibly high speeds. This may prompt the question, why is it an issue in the US, but not the UAE? A handful of cell providers in the United States are essentially using beefed-up 5G antennas, which can impact the radio altimeters on some jets. The Boeing 777 has been most notably affected by flight cancelations across the globe.

Emirates, Airbus A380, A6-EVO
The A380 isn't planned for the route for the time being. Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying

While the Airbus A380 is not on a list of unaffected aircraft issued by the FAA, Emirates believes that they can continue to be safely used according to Air Insight,

Are flights getting back on track?

It seems as though the worst of the situation is now behind us. Shortly after several airlines canceled flights to major US airports, an agreement was reached to delay the roll-out. Clark told how services would be restored if such a delay was implemented. According to the airline's travel alerts, a handful of services have since been rescheduled. At the time of writing, these were,

  • EK 237 - Dubai to Boston - January 20th
  • EK 255 - Dubai to San Francisco - January 20th
  • EK 211 - Dubai to Houston - January 20th
  • EK 238 - Boston to Dubai - January 21st
  • EK 226 - San Francisco to Dubai - January 21st
  • EK 212 - Houston to Dubai - January 21st

Do you think the 5G roll-out was utterly irresponsible? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!