‘No chance of 5G signals interfering with aviation device in Thailand’
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on Thursday said there had been no reports of 5G signals in Thailand interfering with the radio altimeter, a device used by pilots to read the aircraft’s altitude above ground during the landing process.
“Radio altimeters usually use a frequency in the range of 4.2-4.4 gigahertz, or 4,200-4,400 megahertz, while 5G signals in Thailand are on the 2.6 Ghz frequency, which is quite far from that of the aviation device,” said the statement.
“CAAT has been monitoring the issue since June 2021 after the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] and the International Civil Aviation Organization had issued warnings to aviation authorities worldwide. Since then, there have been no reports of such an issue in Thailand, but the CAAT will keep monitoring the situation closely.”
The issue caught global media attention last week when the United States’ FAA said that some Boeing 787 passenger jets should take extra care when landing in wet or snowy conditions at airports near 5G towers.
“Interference from 5G signals could affect the planes' altimeters, leading to delays in deploying the spoilers and thrust reversers that slow the aircraft down after landing,” the FAA said in a statement on January 14. “The presence of 5G C-Band interference can result in degraded deceleration performance, increased landing distance, and runway excursion.”
In simple terms, it suggests that an interference of signals could lead, in the worst-case scenario, to a plane running off the end of the runway.
“The issue in the United States has yet to be found in other countries, as telecom operators are usually required to use frequencies that are at least 100 to 200 Mhz away from the aviation frequency,” the CAAT said. “Furthermore, in Thailand the 5G base stations must be at least 200 metres away from aircraft landing areas to avoid creating any interference.”
