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By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Sunday it had left about 45 percent of its U.S. commercial aircraft fleet low-visibility landings at several airports that will deploy 5G C-bands from Wednesday.
The FAA has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive aircraft instruments, such as altimeters, and could affect low-visibility operations.
U.S. passenger and freight airlines have sounded the alarm on top government officials, who are far from fixing the problem and could have a major impact on flights and the supply chain.
“Even with the FAA’s approval today, U.S. airlines will not be able to operate a majority of passenger and cargo flights due to FAA’s 5G-related flight restrictions unless action is taken ahead of the Jan. 19 expansion.” said a trade group representing Airlines for America, American Airlines (NASDAQ :), Delta Air Lines (NYSE :), Fedex and other carriers.
The FAA approved two models of radio altimeters used in many Boeing (NYSE 🙂 and Airbus aircraft, the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, MD-10 / -11 and some Airbus A310, A319, A320, A321, A330 and A350 models. including. . The announcement came just days before AT&T (NYSE 🙂 and Verizon (NYSE 🙂 launched a new 5G service on Wednesday. The FAA has said it expects more approval in the coming days.
The FAA said aircraft and altimeter approvals open runways “at 48 of the 88 airports directly affected by 5G C band interference.” But the agency warned that “despite these new approvals, flights from some airports may still be affected.”
Reuters has revised the 36-page list of runways covered by unpublished approvals, and does not include many of the larger U.S. airports.
The FAA told Boeing in a letter to Reuters on Sunday that it was issuing permits for specific runways and aircraft with certain altimeters “because it has reduced the susceptibility to interference from 5G C-band emissions.”
AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly $ 100 billion in the C-Band spectrum in a $ 80 billion auction last year, agreed on January 3 to protect areas around 50 airports to reduce the risk of interference and reduce potential interference for six months. They also agreed to delay the deployment by two weeks, avoiding a stoppage of aircraft safety.
The FAA issued nearly 1,500 notes on Thursday outlining the extent of the impact of 5G services.
“Passengers should check with their airlines for a possible 5G weather interference destination at a possible destination,” the FAA said on Sunday.
On January 7, the FAA unveiled 50 U.S. airports with 5G buffer sites, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Miami.
But airlines warn that these sites may not be enough to prevent flight disruptions at these airports.
On Thursday, Airports Council International – North America called for a delay in the deployment of 5G to prevent a major disruption to the U.S. air transportation system.
On Friday, the FAA said it would ask Boeing 787 operators to take extra precautions when landing on wet or snowy runways.
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