FAA: Nëmmen 45% vun der US kommerziell Flott kënnen 5G ausstoen

'USA Federal Aviation Administration (Faà) determined yesterday which radio altimeter models can potentially be used for low-visibility landings in case of 5G C-band interference, clearing about 45% of the US commercial fleet for low-visibility landing at just over half of the airports.

d' Faà findings open up runways at 48 out of the 88 airports most affected by 5G for a number of aircraft models, including Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, and MD-10/-11 and Airbus A310, A319, A320, A321, A330, and A350.

These aircraft would be allowed to land at the airports listed by the Faà even under low-visibility conditions. The remaining airports are still deemed too much affected by 5G frequencies and would apparently be open for landing only in good weather.

“Passengers should check with their airlines if weather is forecast at a destination where 5G interference is possible,” the Faà gewarnt.

The agency also noted that none of 88 affected airports would have been available for landing during recent low-visibility conditions on January 5.

AT&T and Verizon that are behind the development of wireless 5G networks in the US agreed to delay their rollout until January 19 and create buffer zones around 50 airports to reduce the interference risks. Buffer zones were particularly created in the New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Miami airports.

However, the list of approved runways does not include many larger US airports. The US passenger and cargo airlines also believe the measures taken so far are insufficient.

The FAA previously repeatedly voiced concerns about C-band 5G potentially disrupting airplane instruments, like radio altimeters. The concerns led to negotiations between the telecom companies and government officials and saw the original 5G rollout date set for December being postponed several times.

The telecom companies also agreed to keep their 5G towers offline around dozens of airports for at least another six months after the rollout.