The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a mandate requiring radio altimeters on certain aircraft to meet next-generation performance standards in order to mitigate possible interference from 5G signals tied to a recent spectrum auction. The agency said on Friday that major U.S. airlines must complete required retrofits on affected airplanes by the end of 2030.
To offset part of that expense, eligible domestic carriers and owners will be able to claim rebates totaling as much as $2.2 billion. Those rebates will come from a portion of government proceeds generated by the Federal Communications Commission's C-Band wireless auction, the FAA said.
The FAA's cost estimates place individual aircraft retrofit expenses in a range of $80,000 to $120,000. The agency also indicated that other classes of aircraft will face retrofit deadlines later, by 2034, and that the aggregate cost to retrofit the civilian airplane fleet could reach up to $7.1 billion.
The requirement for the 2030 deadline is targeted. The FAA said it applies to "flights by the major domestic and international airlines that affect the flying public, have the highest public expectation of safety, perform a significant majority of low-visibility operations that would otherwise be restricted to protect from hazardous interference." The rule applies to airplanes operating in U.S. airspace; foreign operators are not eligible for the rebates.
On the coordination between agencies, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said this week that the agency and FAA processes "will together provide for the upgrade radio altimeters and provide rebates to support eligible domestic aircraft operators and owners in this effort."
The FAA's action follows episodes in 2022 when some U.S. airports experienced brief disruptions after international carriers canceled flights. Those cancellations were prompted by concerns that new 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which measure height above ground and are key to landing operations in poor weather. At the time, the immediate problem was addressed through a voluntary arrangement among Verizon, AT&T and major air carriers, but airlines have continued efforts to install upgraded altimeters.
The FAA framed the retrofit requirement as a safety-driven response to a specific interference risk tied to the newly allocated wireless spectrum. It emphasized that its regulatory reach is limited to aircraft that operate in the United States, and that only domestic operators meeting eligibility criteria will be able to access the designated rebate funds.
Estimated unit costs and the projected $7.1 billion total retrofit price provide a financial scale for carriers and aircraft owners weighing compliance timelines and capital expenditures. The use of auction proceeds to subsidize part of the work links telecommunications policy decisions directly to aviation safety actions and airline capital planning.
Article note: Information in this article is limited to the details provided by the FAA and FCC statements regarding retrofit requirements, rebate funding, cost estimates, deadlines, eligibility, and the 2022 disruptions referenced by regulators.