Airlines all over the world rush to change and cancel flights over 5G problem

Airlines across the world, including long-haul carrier Emirates, are rushing to cancel or change flights heading into the US over an ongoing dispute about the rollout of 5G mobile phone technology near American airports.

The issue is appearing to particularly impact the Boeing 777, a long-range, wide-body aircraft used by carriers worldwide - especially Emirates. Two Japanese airlines directly named the aircraft as being particularly affected by the 5G signals as they announced cancellations and changes to their schedules.

The cancellations come even after mobile phone carriers AT&T and Verizon said they will postpone new wireless service near some US airports planned for this week. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared a number of aircraft to fly into airports with the 5G signals, but missing from the list is the Boeing 777.

Dubai-based Emirates, a key carrier for East-West travel, announced it would halt flights to:

It said it would continue flights to Los Angeles, New York and Washington.

In its announcement, Emirates cited the cancellation as necessary due to "operational concerns associated with the planned deployment of 5G mobile network services in the US at certain airports."

"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 state-owned airline said.

The United Arab Emirates successfully rolled out 5G coverage all around its airports without incident, like dozens of other countries. But in the US, the FAA worries that the C-Band strand of 5G could interfere with radio altimeters.

Altimeters measure how high a plane is in the sky, a crucial piece of equipment for flying,