The service shutdown is only temporary, but it's cause for concern. Starlink is causing interference on the 24 Embraer E175s in United Airlines' fleet. Launched in May, the satellite internet service and its antennas are interfering with onboard communications systems, which use antennas for radio waves. This results in interference, which is particularly dangerous for aircraft that need to maintain constant communication with ground controllers.
United Airlines has agreed with The Points Guy, which first reported the news. The airline issued a statement to provide details regarding the aircraft in question—all part of its regional network. The Points Guy stated: "As a precautionary measure, United has disabled all Starlink connectivity across its entire fleet and has since been working with Starlink on a solution."
Starlink's free Wi-Fi is no longer available onboard for passengers of the American airline. That said, a fix is already available, and a third of the affected planes have already received it. United Airlines stated in a statement that it was relying on mandatory maintenance of its aircraft to take advantage of it and add the Starlink fix. Depending on this rotation, it will still take a few weeks before the entire fleet has been through the workshops.
United Airlines Stays on Track with Starlink
In its press release, United Airlines did not provide any details, and simply indicated that it expects "the service will soon be operational again on these aircraft." The company took the opportunity to reassure and indicate that this type of interference was not uncommon on new onboard connectivity solutions, and also indicated that this interference would not cause any problems for flight safety. This comment should be taken with a grain of salt, because even if the interference does not concern the control instruments, it does affect the communication instruments, which remain of great importance to pilots and controllers.
By the end of the year, United Airlines plans to launch Starlink and its free Wi-Fi on its entire fleet of regional aircraft. According to The Points Guy, the interference concern won't slow down the deployment of antennas and the compatibility of other aircraft. In total, 40 E175s are expected to receive Starlink, as are its other CRJ-550s.
Source: The Points Guy
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