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The FAA is prohibiting low-visibility landings at Syracuse Hancock International Airport because of concerns that new 5G cellular signals could interfere with aircraft safety equipment. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)

By Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com
Update: This story has been updated with additional information from the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Federal Aviation Administration is prohibiting some low-visibility landings at Syracuse Hancock International Airport because of worries that new 5G cellular signals will interfere with radio altimeters on some aircraft.

In a statement Wednesday morning, the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, which operates the airport, said Hancock is on a list of several airports where “low visibility operations are not permitted to occur due to the rollout of 5G cellular service today.”

It said low visibility is defined as less than a 200-foot ceiling and less than 1,800 feet “runway visual range” -- a measure of how far down the runway a pilot can see runway surface markings.

In an update Wednesday afternoon, the airport authority said the FAA is expanding its “exclusion zones” around all impacted airports -- including Hancock -- from one mile to three miles, within which 5G signal strength will be significantly reduced. This should qualify airports with those exclusion zones -- including Hancock -- to operate under what the FAA calls “alternative measures of compliance,” or AMOC, operations, the authority said.

Aircraft manufacturers – such as Boeing, Embraer, and Airbus – are responsible for acquiring permission to operate under AMOC conditions from the FAA, according to the authority.

However, in the short term, some aircraft types are not expected to receive such approvals, the authority said. Due to the diverse mix of aircraft that use Hancock, the authority said it expects “some impacts to operations, although the precise level of impact is difficult to quantify.”

“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation right now for our industry as a whole and most importantly, our passengers,” said Jason Terreri, the authority’s executive director. “The airport’s top priority remains the safe and efficient operation of our airfield. We remain in active discussions with industry groups, our representatives in Washington D.C., and our federal agency partners as we work to resolve this issue as quickly and safely as possible.”

5G, or fifth generation wireless service, promises faster speeds on cell phones and other wireless devices than is possible with older cellular standards. However, the FAA says 5G networks use radio frequencies that can be close to those used by radar altimeters, an important piece of safety equipment that allows planes to measure altitude above the terrain.

Pilots use the measurement to monitor their altitude while they are landing. It is especially useful to them when they are landing in low-visibility conditions, such as rain or fog.

In a statement on its website, the FAA said it will need to impose restrictions on flight operations using certain types of radar altimeter equipment close to antennas in 5G networks.

“These safety restrictions could affect flight schedules and operations, affecting the aviation system,” the FAA said. “Before and after the 5G deployment begins, the FAA will continue to work every day to reduce effects of this disruption as we make progress to safely integrate 5G and aviation.”

It said some altimeters are “reliable and accurate” in areas with 5G, while others must be retrofitted or replaced.

Wireless carriers have said 5G has been safely deployed in more than 40 other countries without disrupting aviation services.

Nevertheless, telecommunications carriers voluntarily delayed 5G deployment by two weeks and agreed to restrict their own antenna operations in areas close to key airports where the FAA said interference could lead to significant disruptions. The FAA, working with the carriers, established 5G “buffer zones” around 50 airports, including Hancock, with wireless transmitters in close proximity to the runways.

With the two-week delay now over, the FAA is now imposing low-visibility landing restrictions at some of those airports, including at Syracuse.

By late Wednesday, the FAA had cleared 62% of U.S. commercial aircraft to perform low-visibility landings at many of the airports that are in areas where wireless companies have deployed 5G. Airplane models with one of five cleared altimeters include some Boeing 717, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, MD-10/-11 and Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 models.

“This combination of aircraft and altimeter approval opens up runways at as many as 48 of the 88 airports most directly affected by 5G C-band interference,” it said.

However, even with the new approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected, according to the FAA.

“Passengers should check with their airlines if weather is forecast at a destination where 5G interference is possible,” it said.

The Airports Council International - North America, which represents commercial airports in the U.S. and Canada, has been critical of the federal government for not working out solutions to aviation industry concerns about 5G earlier.

“Potential interference of new 5G services with well-established radar altimeter frequencies have been known for years,” Kevin M. Burke, president and CEO, of the council, said in a letter to the FAA and Federal Communications Commission on Thursday. “Ample time was available to develop reasonable near and long-term solutions that would avoid impacts to travelers, air cargo shippers, and communities that depend on reliable air transportation services.”