WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Santa Claus, also known as St. Nicholas, has been given approval to make his annual rounds Wednesday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced.

The man in the red suit "has received FAA approval to conduct unlimited U.S. flight operations," a statement from the agency said. "A special amendment to the open skies agreements reached between the United States and 28 foreign nations gives Santa automatic landing rights in those countries as well, with all taxes and fees waived."

An FAA team inspected Claus' sleigh at the North Pole, and pronounced it fit for flight "despite being approximately 16 centuries old."

The sleigh has been outfitted with new, state-of-the-art navigational equipment, including an Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System transponder, and a Global Positioning System with FAA enhancements that allow Claus to pinpoint his exact location with one meter. The improvement is expected to assure Claus that he won't land by mistake at "the houses of children who have been naughty, not nice."

The FAA said that Claus' wife, an avionics engineer, adapted the equipment for use on the sleigh, and that elves will be handling ground maintenance and baggage. Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, will lead eight other reindeer pulling the sleigh through the Christmas Eve sky. The FAA said that Rudolph's nose contained weather sensors that could detect potentially dangerous conditions, alerting Claus in time to avoid them.

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