EXCLUSIVE-Many airlines will not meet U.S. 5G upgrade deadline -IATA

The world's biggest airline trade body warned many airlines will be unable to meet looming U.S. deadlines to retrofit airplane altimeters to ensure they are not susceptible to 5G wireless interference and warned it could impact the summer international travel season. International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Willie Walsh said in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg seen by Reuters that many operators will not make retrofit deadlines "owing to supply chain issues, certification delays, and unavoidable logistical challenges."

The letter dated Feb. 2 added "it is critical that we acknowledge and accept that fact and move collectively to change our approach to this issue now, before many carriers are unable to continue to serve the U.S. market during the peak summer travel season." The FAA last month said it was proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or approved filters by early 2024.

Concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which give data on a plane's height above the ground and are crucial for bad-weather landing, led to disruptions at some U.S. airports last year involving international carriers. The Transportation Department did not comment while the FAA said in response to request for comment on the letter "the FAA has made its position clear."

Verizon and AT&T in June voluntarily agreed to delay some C-Band 5G usage until July 1, 2023 as air carriers work to retrofit airplanes to ensure that they will not face interference. The December 2021 FAA directive relied on the voluntary agreement. The FAA, Verizon and AT&T are now negotiating to reach a new agreement that seeks to extend some voluntary mitigations beyond July 1, sources told Reuters.

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