United Airlines Restores Starlink Internet After Radio Interference
Internet service launch hit early turbulence.
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2025 – United Airlines passengers can once again expect to surf the internet at blazing-fast speeds at 30,000 feet above the Earth.
The airline said last week that it had resolved the static interference issue that halted its high-speed Starlink internet service in early June.
United launched its first Starlink-enabled flight on May 15, 2025, a trip from Chicago O’Hare to Detroit. The inaugural flight went smoothly with download speeds exceeding 100 Mbps, sometimes even 200 Mbps, and upload speeds of 20Mbps.
“This internet is fast. It’s going to feel like nothing you’ve ever experienced in the skies before,” Grant Milstead, United Vice President of digital technology, said. “It’s faster than the internet at my house.”
However, on June 7, 2025, the airline halted service on nearly two dozen Embraer E175 jets equipped with Starlink, due to static interference between Starlink antennas and cockpit radio communication systems. While United said the issue never posed a safety concern, it did disrupt pilot communications with air traffic controllers.
Now, United said the issue has been resolved.
“I think it's pretty much been resolved, and it's also very specific to the one – the first aircraft we tried on, which is the E175. Obviously, it's a smaller airplane and the biggest problem with the interference [and] I'm obviously not an engineer,” said Torbjorn Enqvist, United’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, on a July 17 call with Wall Street analysts. “The two antennas [were] too close together. So, they worked around that.”
Despite these initial hiccups, United remains optimistic about its future with Starlink, SpaceX’s low-Earth orbit satellite system. The airline plans to equip its entire two-cabin regional fleet, more than 300 planes, with Starlink by the end of 2025.
“We've got 60 airplanes flying around right now, and we think that the issue is behind us,” Enqvist said.
United emphasized Starlink’s crucial role in enhancing its passenger experience and setting the airline apart from its competitors.
“We have a lot planned for our MileagePlus members this year and adding Starlink to as many planes as we can – as quickly as we can – is at the center of it all,” said Richard Nunn, CEO of United MileagePlus. “It's not only going to revolutionize the experience of flying United, but it's also going to unlock tons of new partnerships and benefits for our members that otherwise wouldn't be possible.”
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