The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive requiring Boeing 787 operators to take additional precautions when landing on wet or snowy runways at airports where 5G C-band service is deployed. Approximately 137 aircraft in the U.S. and 1,010 worldwide will be impacted by the order.
calling for the 5G rollout to be postponed.
The letter warned that the move could potentially interfere with radio altimeters on aircraft, which provide critical altitude information for pilots when operating in low visibility environments. It cited an economic analysis from Airlines for America, which estimates the rollout could result in delays, diversions, or cancellations for 345,000 passenger flights, 32 million passengers and 5,400 cargo flights, $2.1 billion in annual operating costs annually for U.S.
After already delaying the rollout to Jan. 5, Verizon and AT&T agreed to an additional two-week delay in order to give the FAA more time to study 5G's potential impact on radio altimeters. Wireless industry trade group CTIA, the Aerospace Industries Associationand Airlines for America also agreed to share data in order to help the FAA and the FCC address the concerns.
The FAA emphasized that it continues to coordinate with Boeing to address possible 5G C-band interference risks to other aircraft models.