The FAA publishes a list of 50 airports in the United States and will set up a 5G buffer zone around the airport

To prevent the upcoming commercial C-band 5G network expansion from interfering with cockpit instruments, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today released a list of 50 airports across the United States to create a 5G buffer zone around them.

AT&T and Verizon are preparing to upgrade their 5G networks with C-band spectrum, a move that has caused turmoil for operators since 2022. As part of the agreement to allow the rollout, operators said they would avoid deployments around major airports, and on Friday, the FAA decided which airports would be affected.

The list of 50 airports released Friday mainly includes major international airports across the United States, the report said. The list includes airports serving chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Seattle.

Each airport will be the object of a buffer zone, which means that 5G services using C-band spectrum will not be deployed in these areas. However, major airports, including Denver and Atlanta, are not on the list at all, either because 5G is not deployed in the area or because the 5G towers are far enough away, which the FAA calls the existence of a "natural buffer zone."

Other airports not on the list may include those that do not have the capacity to allow low visibility to land. The FAA added that the list does not "necessarily" mean that low-visibility flights cannot be conducted at airports that are not on the list. "If there is a risk to the flying public, we are obliged to suspend the event until we can prove that it is safe," the FAA said. The FAA is concerned that deploying C-band 5G could cause problems with the aircraft's instrumentation when it lands.