I've run into conspiracy theories about 5G. Airlines protesting its introduction in the US is not one of them. From CNN Business you will learn it has nothing to do with cell phones and everything to do with cell towers located close to runways. The key information at risk is "exactlh how high am I as I bring tis plane in to land?" Modern planes like the 777 use radar bounced off the earth to determine exact altitude. We're familiar with the older less-precise barometer technology which uses changes in air pressure to determine altitude. The signals pulsing around the cell tower are similar enough to the radar pulses that airlines think crashes are a plausible consequence. They calling not for the elimination of 5G but for a fix that guarantees the signals can be discriminated reliably.
"Transportation regulators had already been concerned that the version of 5G that was scheduled to be switched on could interfere with some airplane instruments, and many aviation industry groups shared those fears — despite reassurances from federal telecom regulators and wireless carriers.
Specifically, the Federal Aviation Administration has been worried that 5G cellular antennas near some airports — not air travelers' mobile devices — could throw off readings from some aircraft equipment designed to tell pilots how far they are from the ground. Those systems, known as radar altimeters, are used throughout a flight and are considered critical equipment. (Radar altimeters differ from standard altimeters, which rely on air pressure readings and do not use radio signals to gauge altitude.)
In December, the FAA issued an urgent order forbidding pilots from using the potentially affected altimeters around airports where low-visibility conditions would otherwise require them. That new rule could keep planes from getting to some airports in certain circumstances, because pilots would be unable to land using instruments alone."
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