According to ECO, the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) is “monitoring the matter” in Portugal, but believes that the problem “will not arise” in the country or in Europe, despite revealing that safety guidelines have already been issued to airlines with licenses to fly to the USA, including TAP.

“5G interference only occurs in the USA, because the frequency range adopted there is very close to the frequency range of radio-altimeters [of some aircraft], which does not happen in Europe”, explained an official ANAC source to ECO.

North American fifth-generation networks operate in the band between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz, “closest to that used by radio altimeters”, which is between 4.2 and 4.4 GHz. In Europe and in Portugal, frequencies in the 3.6 GHz range, between 3.4 and 3.8 GHz, are used, among others.

ANAC states that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) “has already developed a study and concluded that there is no interference from European 5G networks with radio-altimeters, having published a SIB [Safety Information Bulletin] addressed to operators with Air Operator Certificate authorized to fly to the USA”. Among these operators is the national airline TAP.

“So far, there are no known interferences affecting the radio altimetry systems installed on board the aircraft”, but the ANAC “is monitoring the matter”, concluded the source.