The International Air Transport Association (IATA) hailed the agreement by US phone carriers to extend the mitigation measures for 5G C-band transmissions at airports.
AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular and Verizon will extend it until 1 January 2028.
The voluntary mitigation measures for C-band transmissions mean safe flying can continue at 188 US airports.
The mitigation measures were put in place in January 2022, following the rollout of 5G C-band operations.
It includes lowering the power of 5G transmissions to enable plane navigation systems to operate without disruption.
The measures were originally due to expire 1 July 2023.
IATA welcomed the agreement but maintains it is only a stop-gap measure.
The underlying safety issues around C-band coverage only delays the issue.
“Airlines did not create this situation. They are victims of poor government planning and coordination,” IATA said.
“Industry concerns about 5G for many years were,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s SVP Operations, Safety and Security.
The latest agreement by the telcos to defer until 2028 buys time but does not address the issues, it said.
