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For most passengers, the last moments before a plane touches down are unremarkable: a muted thud, a gentle deceleration, the quiet clatter of tray tables. In the cockpit, however, those same moments depend on a steady stream of invisible data that tells pilots exactly how close they are to the ground. It is that quiet stream of information that the world’s airlines now say is being pushed uncomfortably close to the threshold of interference.

The International Air Transport Association has urged global telecommunications regulators to tighten safeguards as 5G networks continue to expand, and preparations for 6G accelerate. The airline industry’s concern is that mobile networks operating near aviation frequencies could impair radio altimeters and other safety-critical systems, particularly during the most demanding phases of flight.

The warning comes as the International Telecommunication Union prepares for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027, a meeting that will set the long-term global framework for spectrum sharing among industries. Over the next two years, the ITU is conducting detailed technical studies to determine the conditions for worldwide 5G and future 6G deployment. Those studies will shape how aircraft and telecommunications networks co-exist for decades.

To ensure aviation safety is fully reflected in those deliberations, IATA has submitted a working paper to the ITU’s WP5B meeting being held in Geneva from 18 to 27 November 2025. The submission outlines the operational realities that airline crews face every day and argues that future spectrum policy must be anchored in those conditions rather than purely theoretical telecom models.

At the heart of the debate are radio altimeters, instruments that rely on access to the 4.2–4.4 gigahertz band to provide precise height measurements above the terrain. That information is fed directly into cockpit displays and multiple automated safety systems, guiding aircraft through low-visibility landings, unstable weather and emergencies.

IATA’s paper calls on regulators to consider all critical safety scenarios when allocating future spectrum: take-off, landing, taxi, go-arounds, turbulence, windshear and off-nominal events. It also reiterates the need to maintain a minimum separation of 35 feet (11 metres) between aircraft and terrestrial 5G transmitters, a buffer the industry considers essential.

“The benefits of 5G and 6G can never come at the cost of aviation safety,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security. “Spectrum decisions must be based on real-world aircraft operations, not idealised telecommunications industry modelling. That means ensuring ITU studies fully reflect the most demanding conditions pilots face. With input from aviation users, WRC-27 must deliver clear global rules to ensure the safe coexistence of radio altimeters and other safety-critical avionic systems with next-generation telecom networks across all phases of flight.”

Temporary Protections Are Beginning to Unwind

Globally, 5G networks operate across a range of frequency bands and power levels, but aviation’s most significant concern lies with the spectrum immediately adjacent to the radio altimeter band. In several countries, telecommunications providers introduced voluntary mitigation measures after early safety concerns were flagged, including reduced transmission power near airports, runway exclusion zones and downward-tilted antennas.

Those measures, however, were always intended to be interim.

In Canada, key mitigations are due to expire on 1 January 2026. Australia’s protections are scheduled to lapse on 1 April 2026. In the United States, plans to auction the Upper C-Band immediately next to the 4.2 GHz altimeter band are progressing this month, with existing 5G safeguards slated for removal in 2028.

At the same time, more resilient next-generation radio altimeters are not expected to reach airline fleets before the early 2030s. The mismatch between expiring protections and delayed technology upgrades has created what the industry now describes as a widening “mitigation gap”.

“Current 5G mitigations were never designed as a long-term solution and several will expire within months,” Careen said. “At the same time, more resilient radio altimeters will not reach airlines until the next decade. That leaves a significant mitigation gap. With new spectrum auctions underway and protections being lifted in key markets, regulators must not assume safety will take care of itself. The industry needs clear, consistent safeguards to bridge the period before new altimeters are available.”

Why It Matters Beyond the Technical Detail

To most travellers, spectrum allocation is an abstract and distant policy issue. But the equipment affected sits at the core of modern aviation safety. Radio altimeter data drives automated landings in poor visibility, supports terrain-avoidance warnings, and underpins a range of flight-critical systems when the aircraft is closest to the ground.

Aviation’s safety record has been built on international consistency, layered protections and strict engineering margins. IATA argues that those principles should not be diluted as commercial pressure mounts to release more spectrum for mobile data use.

With WRC-27 approaching, the airline industry is pressing for globally harmonised rules that will apply regardless of national auction policies or differing telecom market structures. The aim, it says, is not to stall technological progress, but to ensure that connectivity continues to grow without encroaching on the margins that keep flights safe.

In regulatory terms, IATA’s message is measured. In aviation terms, it is pointed. The signal to governments is that the next phase of mobile connectivity must proceed with the same caution that has long governed the skies.