Last year, the FAA issued more than 1,400 warnings about the possibility that on-board aviation systems may be disrupted by 5G C-Band operations
A quickly approaching July 1st deadline for passenger jets to upgrade their altimeters to address potential 5G interference could cause some airline delays or cancellations, warned U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday.
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued more than 1,400 warnings to pilots about the possibility that on-board aviation systems may be disrupted by 5G C-Band operations. Specifically, the agency states that 5G signals may interfere with radio wave emitters that passenger jets use to measure how far they are from the ground, which pilots rely on during low visibility landings.
Therefore, while the new equipment isn’t actually required until February 2024, passenger jets that haven’t been certified for operation around C-Band 5G signals by this weekend will not be permitted to land in certain low-visibility situations.
Reports show that more than than 80% of U.S. passenger planes have already been upgraded; however, 65% of international planes entering the U.S. have not, indicating there might be notable international travel disruptions in the coming weeks.
Airlines largely maintain that C-Band will have little-to-no impact on aviation, yet they are complying. According to the Wall Street Journal, most U.S airlines expect to have their fleets fully upgraded by the July 1st deadline. Delta Air Lines and JetBlue, though, will miss this deadline, as 190 planes and 17 planes, respectively, will not have the new equipment.
In 2021, AT&T and Verizon faced delays to their C-Band roll outs due to the FAA’s concerns over interference. In December of that year, the carriers agreed to pause their C-Band plans until early January, but when Buttigieg and FAA Chief Steve Dickson, asked the pair to delay their C-Band roll out for an additional two weeks, the carriers first rejected the new request. The pair changed their tune the following day, however, ultimately agreeing to the two-week delay that will now put C-Band activation at January 19 instead of January 5.
