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Dennis Tajer is Interviewed about 5G's Effect on Aviation; Boris Johnson Faces Calls to Resign; NYC Subway Safety Concerns; Postal Service Under Pressure to Deliver Tests. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 19, 2022 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:30:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: As well.

Pete Muntean, thank you so much.

Well, joining us now to talk about all of this is Captain Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines 737 pilot and spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association.

Captain, thank you for joining us.

So you have called the planned rollout of 5G near airports reckless and unsafe and you say it puts passengers at risk. For those of us who are not as well versed into altimeters and how that works, explain why you say so.

CAPT. DENNIS TAJER, SPOKESPERSON, ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION: Well, certainly the step forward, I think Delta mentioned that, is in the right direction, protecting some of our airports. Now we're looking at which airports.

And I just received last night from American Airlines, from my aircraft, the 737, 25 pages about the potential effects of 5G interference to my aircraft. That's if I go into a 5G airport. So we're looking at what airports are protected and what airports are now. And that's giving us some concern.

Now, we have procedures for it, but I go and it gives me a list of affected systems. So as Pete adeptly mentioned, the radio altimeter, well, that feeds information to a myriad of systems, that Pete mentioned, some 10, there's actually up to 17, and some of them have to do with my auto throttles, the engines, the trust reverses, speed brakes, all these things that we use for takeoff and landing, for a rejected takeoff, and it effects our landing distance. So, we have a lot of calculations to do if we go to a 5G airport. SCIUTTO: Yes.

TAJER: And what I'd like to also add is that AT&T and Verizon saying, oh, this is done in other countries. It wasn't done like you propose. You were going to go full on with the spectrum, pointed right at the airplane, as, for instance, France, the FAA points this out, France had the antennas tilted down. They degraded the power of the signal. And they moved the frequency away from the airplane.

Now, it worked for the French. I don't know if it will work for us. But for them to say it's worked everyone else, why aren't we doing it here, is not accurate.

SCIUTTO: OK.

TAJER: And stop blaming the FAA, frankly, because you bought something for $80 billion and if you didn't do the full follow through with the agencies, I think it lies in several areas.

SCIUTTO: That's interesting. So you're saying this is not a failure of federal regulators here, but a failure of the private companies, the providers?

TAJER: I think everybody owns a little bit in this space. And as captain of the airplane, the bottom line is, I'm counting on you to have my back.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

TAJER: And, on this one, it didn't work.

GOLODRYGA: What's a bit puzzling here is that this rollout has been in the works for two years now and it's already been delayed twice. I'm just curious why you think it has taken this long to get any sort of resolution and why all of a sudden there's this panic situation where nothing seems to have been addressed.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

TAJER: I agree. That's equally frustrating for us. This G -- 5G. There 4G prior and we've been dealing with this for many years. So for the cell phone companies to say this was a surprise to us, or even the FAA saying, hey, we didn't expect this, I'll own a little bit of this, but the bottom line is, after all that drama and hair pulling and blame game, I have to board passengers and know that it's safe for them to fly and (INAUDIBLE) great distraction to that.

SCIUTTO: It's not the first G, as you say.

I do want to ask you, since we're speaking of safety, about another issue given that you're a 737 pilot. Concerns have been raised that Boeing placed profit over safety in the design and manufacture of the 737 Max contributing potentially to two deadly crashes.

You've been a pilot for years, including in a 737. Have those problems been fixed and would you fly and would you recommend that we fly 737 Max jets?

TAJER: Yes, because of the changes that were made. I mean pilots were right out there saying this was wrong and we all -- many of us know the story about it. And, yes, t was profits over people. And we take that same philosophy with us on this 5G signal. We're not making that accusation, but that's why we're pushing back so hard on this because the same things that happened on the Max with all those distractive alerts for a different reason can happen on this.

Now, it's not going to create the same aggressive nose down that the Max had that caused two crashes, but we are very keen to this situation developing on the flight deck. So, it's all about the human beings, and right now the human beings who fly the airplane are saying you better be careful.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, you're looking out for yourself, you're looking out for us, the passengers, as well.

Captain Dennis Tajer, thanks so much for joining us.

TAJER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: In the name of God, go. Those words from a British lawmaker this morning as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces growing calls to resign over multiple parties at Downing Street during the height of the pandemic. He's getting it from his own party, as well. We'll see his response, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:39:27]

SCIUTTO: New this morning, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has announced the end of all pandemic restrictions in the United Kingdom, saying that people will no longer be asked to work from home, masks no longer required in schools, the mandate to wear masks in public moved as well. Some big moves there.

Well, he's facing some difficult politics. The prime minister is refusing to resign today despite numerous calls from members of parliament, including members of his own party, for him to do so. The grilling comes after allegations he held not just one but multiple alcohol filled parties at Downing Street during the height of the pandemic which broke Covid protocols his own administration imposed.

[09:40:06]

Of course showed them not following rules, Bianna, that they set themselves.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, though he's saying he didn't know that those were the rules, which is a bit of a head scratcher there.

One member of Boris Johnson's own party even defecting for the opposition this morning over this growing scandal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prime minister of the conservative party have shown themselves incapable of offering the leadership in government this country deserves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Ouch.

CNN Selma Abdelaziz is live in London.

A lot of calls for his resignation today. These are not subtle. No one's holding back here. How is he responding, Selma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Jim and Bianna, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back in parliament today trying to fight for his political survival. And if you wanted any answers on party-gate, he wasn't going to give them to you. Johnson talked about vaccines, about Covid, about the economy, about anything but party-gate. Instead, it was denial and deflection, but that did not stop his own party. Every time Johnson was asked, he pointed to an investigation, but already conservative lawmaker are running out of patience. That's why one of his top allies stood up and said, it's time to go.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter the excuse, there is no excuse for taking the British people for fools. Will the prime minister agrees, it's now time for him to resign?

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: No, Mr. Speaker, but what I can tell her is that I -- as I said to the house last week, I apologize sincerely for any misjudgments that were made, but she must contain her impatience, Mr. Speaker, and wait for the inquiry next week before she draws any of the conclusions that she's just asserted.

DAVID DAVIS, CONSERVATIVE MEMBER OF U.K. PARLIAMENT: You have sat there too long for all the good you have done. In the name of God, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: In the name of God, go. Those words are extremely important in this country. It's a repetition of a quote that was used in 1940 when Neville Chamberlain was prime minister. It was the words that forced him out of office after the policy of appeasement no longer worked for his party.

Let's look at today. We are now looking at a prime minister who has increasingly run out of excuses. Again, Bianna, you mentioned, the latest defense is that the prime minister, who sets the rules, who tells the police in this country to enforce the rules, is claiming he somehow didn't know the rules. And, yes, we have not reached that threshold required for a no confidence vote, but every day that rebellion against him grows. GOLODRYGA: I mean, it's stunning, Selma and Jim, if you think about

it, on the day that the prime minister lifted all Covid restrictions, right, which sort of led to this crisis, the focus still remains on these parties. Clearly, he has offended and hurt a lot of people in that country by this.

SCIUTTO: The question is, is it enough members of his own party to trigger the various thresholds for a no confidence vote? We'll be watching.

Salma Abdelaziz, at number 10, thanks so much.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you.

Well, coming up, making people feel safe on the New York City subways. That's the goal from officials in the wake of yet another random attack. This one, unfortunately, deadly. The plan to put more money into mental health. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:47:53]

GOLODRYGA: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is facing a major test while also urging the public not to panic. This after a 40-year-old woman was pushed in front of a subway train in a deadly and random attack.

SCIUTTO: Residents held a vigil last night in Times Square to honor Michelle Go. A homeless man with suspected mental health issues has now been charged with second degree murder. Adams and other local officials are calling for increased mental health support across the city.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has been covering.

Mayor Adams says he's fighting a perception of fear when it comes to the subway. Tell us what plans he has in place.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, you know, this is an issue that he knows and has to take on if he wants to get tourists back into the city, if he wants to get computers back on the rails as well to fill a lot of empty office space here in New York City. And he's -- you know, has some short-term solutions. Of course, there were efforts made last year by his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, to try to help with this issue, which was, of course, exacerbated by the pandemic. But, certainly, only time will tell, right?

But what happened over the weekend, you know, the mayor said there was a perception of fear after this horrific murder, and then had to walk back those comments saying, you know what, he gets it. So, of course, he has to say that in order to make sure that he, again, brings people back to this city and it can recover.

Hear more -- listen to more of what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: We know we have a job to do and we're going to do both. We're going to drive down crime and we're going to make sure New Yorkers feels safe in our subway system. And they don't feel that way now. I don't feel that way when I take the train every day or when I'm moving throughout our transportation system. That is our battle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Now, of course, this is something that he campaigned on. In a short-term solution, him and the governor of New York have decided that they're going to put more police officers in the subway system. They're also going to bring in more personnel for the mental health and homelessness that we see in the subway system and hopefully that will help the efforts.

But, again, this is one prong to a very complex issue, guys.

[09:50:02]

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and striking there to hear the mayor say he, himself, doesn't feel safe riding the subways in the city right now.

But this isn't an issue that's only isolated to New York City. We're seeing this in other large cities in the country. Los Angeles, for example, we know the search, Jen, continues for -- Brynn, excuse me, for the man that stabbed a 24-year-old woman to death. It appears to be another random attack, this time inside a furniture store. Police releasing new details about the suspect overnight.

What are they saying?

GINGRAS: Yes, not just new details, but also a picture. I think we might have that for you. And also a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. That's 31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith. That's the person who they believe stabbed that woman inside of that furniture store, killing her. This wasn't the only incident that happened which police are saying is dealing with a person that is homeless, has mental health issues.

There was another incident where an older woman was attacked at a bus stop and was really thrown to the ground and she died later. She was an ER nurse that helped through the pandemic. And, again, the police chief there saying that they know that this is a mental health crisis.

But, again, this is something, like you said, Bianna, that not just police, not just mayors, district attorneys, so many people have to come together and address these issues head-on as, of course, we are seeing these crime spikes across the country.

SCIUTTO: Brynn Gingras, thanks so much.

So, are you looking for an at-home Covid test? The U.S. Postal Service is now delivering them right to your door. I've ordered mine. But with sick calls and staff shortages, how long will it take for this tests to get to you? Will they be in time? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:06]

SCIUTTO: New this morning, the Biden administration is making 400 million N95 masks, those are the good ones, available for free to the public. A White House official says beginning next week people can pick up to three masks at pharmacies and community health centers.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, there had been a lot of pressure on the administration to do just this. They come from the strategic national stockpile and amount to more than half of the 750 million already stored. The CDC recently advised that well-fitting respirators, such as N95 masks, offer the highest level of protection against Covid-19. A White House official said the program is the largest deployment of PPE in U.S. history and will be fully up and running by early February.

And beyond masks, Americans can now order free Covid-19 home tests. The federal government quietly launched its website yesterday which allows people to order tests shipped directly to their homes. Delivering those 500 million tests? The U.S. Postal Service.

SCIUTTO: You know, I ordered them yesterday. It took me about 12 seconds, folks.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it's fast.

SCIUTTO: It's easy to do. We should note, though, the postal service is, of course, an agency already facing major delays. Thousands of postal workers either sick from Covid or quarantining.

CNN's Gabe Cohen takes a closer look at how the mail is now preparing to deliver all those tests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This morning, the new government website covidtest.gov is up and running. With just a name and address, families can request four free at-home rapid antigen tests to be delivered to their home.

It comes as the Biden administration faces growing pressure to fix the Covid testing shortage.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're looking forward to getting free tests out to the public.

COHEN: The White House says they have tens of millions of tests ready to go and are spending $4 billion to deliver the first 500 million, passing pressure to the postal service to quickly deliver.

The postmaster general saying they are well prepared to accept and deliver test kits on the first day the program launches. But, right now, the U.S. Postal Service is facing some problems with communities in several states dealing with mail delays because of omicron.

DEREK REYNOLDS, HOMEOWNER IN MARYLAND: It's mostly bulk mail.

COHEN: Derek Reynolds just got mail delivered to his Maryland home for the first time in three weeks.

REYNOLDS: It's a very weird and frustrating situation to have things you know are coming that you just don't know when they're ever going to arrive.

COHEN: As of Tuesday, more than 19,000 postal workers were either sick or quarantining, just shy of the agency's pandemic high and more than twice as many as just two weeks ago.

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D), DC DELEGATE: There are households where there has been no mail delivered for days.

COHEN: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a concerned letter to the postal service about the delays in D.C.

NORTON: And if we can't get the mail, how are we going to get these Covid test?

REYNOLDS: I would be very worried about getting a test in any kind of timely manner.

COHEN: The postal service is now ramping up operations, setting up 43 centers where they'll pack and ship those tests and hiring more than 7,000 temporary workers, many of them still staff from the holidays.

USPS says their mitigation plans continue to perform well during omicron, adding that 90 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time in the first week of January.

MARK DIMONDSTEIN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO: We will get those test kits where they belong, providing the test kits get to the post office in a timely way.

COHEN: But even if all goes right, don't expect overnight delivery. The White House predicts most tests will ship in seven to 12 days, and not until late January. They say the tests should be used in three situations, if you have symptoms, at least five days after exposure, or before gathering indoors with high-risk people.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIV. OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Order the tests before you need them. If they wait until they have an issue, by the time the tests arrive, the optimal time for testing may well have passed.

[10:00:00]

COHEN: Dr. William Schaffner is part of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices.

SCHAFFNER: If you've been exposed, you don't have the tests available, you'll have to find testing