Flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) yesterday said it expects flights to the United States to continue as scheduled, after US authorities have resolved the safety issues over the effect of new fifth generation (5G) transmitters on the flights.
In a statement, PAL said the US Department of Transportation has assured the aviation community that aircraft landing in US airports will not encounter interference from 5G radio waves now that telecommunications companies have agreed with the Biden administration to revise the deployment of the upgraded technology around key airports throughout the US.
PAL had been preparing to cancel certain US-bound flights had there been any remaining concern over the 5G effect on flight safety.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority,” said Stanley Ng, PAL senior vice president for operations.
“We welcome the intervention of the US government and will continue to engage closely with the authorities, airports, aircraft makers and aviation safety professionals to ensure that every PAL flight is operated according to the highest safety standards,” he added.
PAL flies regularly to Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, and the continued safe operation of these flights will benefit the thousands of travelers, including US-based Filipinos, who prefer to fly on PAL’s nonstop flights between Manila and the US mainland.
PAL said flights to Honolulu and Guam, as well as routes to other overseas destinations in Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East, are not affected by the 5G concerns that involved only specific airports in the US mainland.
