5G in Canada Forces New Airplane Safety Rules
Published Date: 6/30/2026
Rule
Summary
Starting July 1, 2026, all transport and commuter airplanes with radio altimeters must update their flight manuals to limit certain operations in Canadian airspace. This change is because 5G signals in Canada can mess with altimeter readings, which could be unsafe. Pilots and airlines need to follow these new rules to keep flights safe, with comments on the rule open until August 14, 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Part 121 airplanes must be retrofit to be tolerant
Airplanes operating under 14 CFR part 121 in Canadian airspace must be modified from a non-radio altimeter tolerant configuration to a radio altimeter tolerant configuration; once modified, the AFM limitations for that airplane may be removed. The AD treats such a modification as terminating action for the AFM limits.
Estimated compliance costs for U.S. fleet
The FAA estimates this AD affects about 1,000 U.S.-registered transport and commuter airplanes and gives a total U.S. fleet compliance cost of up to $50,382,000. Estimated per-airplane costs shown include an AFM revision at $85, radio-altimeter replacement up to $120,000 (estimated for ~180 airplanes), and addition of radio-altimeter filters up to $14,040 each (estimated for ~820 airplanes).
Flight manual limits for Canadian airspace
Starting July 1, 2026, transport and commuter airplanes that are NOT shown to be radio-altimeter tolerant must have their airplane flight manual (AFM) revised before any further flight in Canadian airspace to prohibit certain operations that rely on radio altimeter data. The prohibited operations include ILS approach categories SA CAT I, SA CAT II, CAT II, CAT III, automatic landing, certain manual flight-control/HUD-to-touchdown operations, and use of EFVS to touchdown under 14 CFR 91.176(a).
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