US aviation sector calls for 5G wireless deadline extension

Air carriers will be unable to fully meet deadlines to retrofit planes to avoid interference from latest generation 5G C-Band wireless service, the aviation industry said Tuesday, urging the White House to help avert a standoff. Concerns that 5G services could interfere with airplanes' 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 earlier this year. A letter signed by Airlines for America, Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, aviation unions and others backed the FAA request to mandate an extension of mitigation by wireless carriers as airlines retrofit radio altimeters. "It is critical to extend these mitigations through the end of 2023 to allow airlines time to complete the retrofit," the letter said. Because of global supply chain issues "air carriers will likely be unable to fully meet either the December 2022 deadlines for smaller regional aircraft and many large transports nor the July 2023 retrofit deadline," it added. "Our aviation coalition strongly believes that instead of once again waiting until the eleventh hour, now is the time for the leadership at federal agencies and the White House to implement a solution that allows 5G to move forward and avoid further flight delays and cancellations," the letter said. FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen urged a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators over aviation safety concerns.<br/>