Majority of US fleets cleared for ‘low-visibility landings’ at airports with 5G: FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday said that close to two-thirds of U.S. commercial fleets have been cleared “to perform low-visibility landings at airports” with the newly deployed 5G wireless service.

“The new safety buffer announced Tuesday around airports in the 5G deployment further expanded the number of airports available to planes with previously cleared altimeters to perform low-visibility landings. The FAA early Wednesday cleared another three altimeters,” the agency said in a statement.

Among the aircraft models that have been cleared by the FAA include certain Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 models and Boeing 717, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and MD-10/-11 models, the agency noted.

Last week, the FAA had only cleared 45 percent of U.S. commercial fleets, Axios reported.

The announcement by the FAA comes as Verizon and AT&T on Wednesday rolled out their 5G service while agreeing to delay its deployment near certain airports. 

The decision came amid appeals from airlines who were concerned that 5G service near certain airports could cause flight disruptions, including affecting how quickly key goods are transported and possibly making it harder for some Americans to return home from overseas.

Some airlines are still bracing for inconveniences amid the cellphone carriers’ 5G rollout.

“While we anticipate minor disruptions at some airports due to the remaining 5G restrictions, we’re pleased the Biden Administration reached a compromise with AT&T and Verizon to avoid mass cancellations across the aviation industry,” United Airlines said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We look forward to a higher level of coordination between the regulators, telecom companies and the aviation industry to ensure that customers are not faced with disruptions going forward.”