United Airlines has pulled the plug on Starlink WiFi service on some of its planes after the system interfered with critical flight equipment.
The issue hit United’s Embraer E175 regional jets. Pilots started hearing static when talking to air traffic control — a serious problem in any cockpit. After investigating, the airline traced the interference back to Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet system recently installed on the planes.
“Starlink is now installed on about two dozen United regional aircraft,” the airline said in a statement published by The Points Guy, which first reported the issue. “United and Starlink teams are working together to address a small number of reports of static interference during the operation of the Wi-Fi system, which is fairly common with any new airline Wi-Fi provider. We expect the service to be back up and running on these aircraft soon.”
While United claims the issue didn’t pose a safety risk, radio interference in the sky isn’t something the FAA — or anyone — can afford to ignore.
The timing couldn’t be worse. U.S. air travel is already struggling, from an air traffic controller shortage to a string of Boeing manufacturing failures. Now, a tech billionaire’s internet service is disrupting vital aircraft communication.
This also raises a bigger issue: how deeply Elon Musk is embedding himself in America’s infrastructure. From launching astronauts into space to putting satellite dishes on commercial jets, Musk’s companies touch everything from defense to travel.
Whether that’s a good thing or not is up for debate. But for now, United has grounded Starlink — because when safety’s on the line, even Musk doesn’t get a pass.
