FAA to require airplanes to upgrade altimeters by early 2024

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require both cargo and passenger airplanes in the US to install 5G C-band tolerant radio altimeters, or an approved radio frequency (RF) filter, by February 24, 2024. The FAA said that this latest directive is an update to the FAA’s December 2021 requirement that prohibited passenger and cargo planes from operating in the vicinity of 5G C-band wireless transmitters unless they were approved by the FAA. To give the airlines more time to upgrade their altimeters and to allow normal flight operations to continue, Verizon and AT&T responded to the FAA’s December 2021 directive by voluntarily modifying their 5G C-band deployments. Both companies agreed to use lower power transmitters and incorporate buffer zones around airports. The FAA said that airlines are making progress at retrofitting their airplanes to accommodate the 5G C-band transmissions, but added that this longer-term solution makes the retrofits mandatory. In addition, the FAA is requiring airlines to revise their flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after June 30, 2023, unless the retrofits have been completed on that airplane. AT&T and Verizon implemented 5G buffer zones around certain airport runways and also limited their 5G C-band power levels around airports; meaning the directive likely comes as a welcome relief.