Why Were There So Many Cancellations At Paine Field This Week?

Simple Flying

By Sumit Singh

Published Jan 29, 2022

Alaska Airlines planes wait to transport the first passengers to their destinations as commercial flights began Monday morning at the new Everett Paine Field Airport terminal, March 4, 2019. The inaugural flight left at 10 am, carrying state and local dignitaries to Portland, and two subsequent flights departed to Las Vegas and Phoenix. The opening ceremony included a ribbon cutting and unveiling of a statue of Lt. Topliff Paine, the Everett army pilot for whom the airport is named. Alaska and United Airlines will have offer a combined 24 flights daily to nine destinations. (Genna Martin, Seattlepi.com) (Photo by Genna Martin/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Numerous flights had been canceled at Paine Field, Washington this week. The airport, which is an important site for Alaska Airlines subsidiary Horizon Air has been significantly affected by the new 5G C-band rollout across the United States.

A combined force

Severe fog is joining 5G restrictions to disrupt aviation activity at the West Coast airport. The Seattle Times reports that all 24 commercial flights operating at the site were canceled on Monday. Additional flights were then canceled on Tuesday until visibility started to improve.

Alaska Airlines noted that cancellations could be announced for several more days. Earlier this week, the airline shared that it dropped at least 41 flights since the FAA implemented 5G restrictions last week.

Following the controversial rollout of the new 5G, the aviation body issued dozens of NOTAMs that prohibit certain services involving some aircraft at specific airports. Paine Field is one of the unlucky airports that have seen its operations notably impacted as a result.

Headquartered in Seattle, Alaska Airlines has a robust presence all across the Pacific Coast. Photo: Getty Images

Ongoing struggles

The FAA has been strict on its stance following concerns about C-band’s potential interference with a plane’s altimeters. Thus, it has issued many Airworthiness Directives (AD) since the turn of the year.

Most commercial aircraft models have been deemed to have one of the cleared altimeters, including some Embraer E170 and E190 productions. However, the Embraer E175 is still being largely restricted at the affected airports. With 30 units of the E175 type, the regional services out of Paine Field are being disrupted due to the plane's Honeywell altimeter requiring airport-specific limitations.

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The airline’s response

While Alaska Airlines welcomes AT&T and Verizon's agreement to limit C-band usage near major airports, the deployment is still causing problems for regional services. Amid the ongoing weather conditions matched with the 5G rollout, Alaska Airlines has been issuing travel advisories. Additionally, passengers can manage their booking by contacting the airline or using its online system.

"In a nutshell, the new 5G C-band, when deployed within two miles of an airport, interferes with vital flight technology used to navigate aircraft during challenging weather and low visibility. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued flight restrictions that limit the ability of some aircraft to land in certain weather conditions," Alaska Airlines stated.

"Since the agreement was reached, Alaska’s Boeing and Airbus aircraft have been cleared for low visibility landings by the FAA. However, some of our regional jets have not yet been cleared at certain airports and are still subject to restrictions on landing/takeoff during low visibility conditions (such as dense fog or winter weather) that were put in place before the agreement to limit 5G. This is causing cancellations, delays and diversions."

All in all, the 5G debacle has been causing operational havoc on both a local and international scale. With the C-band rollout still fresh, we can expect plenty more turns in the coming weeks. The FAA continues to announce updates to the saga on a daily basis.

What are your thoughts about the cancellations at Paine Field and how 5G C-band is impacting operations across the United States? Have you been affected by the rollout? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.