FAA Modernizes NOTAM System

For safer flying, pilots obtain mission-critical information before and sometimes during a flight through NOTAMs—the Notice to Airmen system. As of April 18 the FAA officially changed over to a new modern NOTAM system.

If you didn’t notice the change, don’t worry. You weren’t supposed to. 

Described as a “back-end changeover,” it’s part of the series of improvements the FAA began testing in September. The impetus for the upgrade was a collapse of the system in January 2023 that resulted in thousands of flights being canceled and others delayed. It was the first nationwide ground stop since the 9/11 attacks.

Over 4 million NOTAMs are issued per year.

The FAA said its new vendor-provided NOTAM Management Service (NMS) will improve the handling of aeronautical information, resulting in a safer, more-efficient aerospace system, as the architecture enables more rapid updates.

NOTAMs inform pilots of items ranging from GPS outages, taxiway closures, and out-of-service ground-based navigational aids to changes in communication and navigation frequencies and airspace changes, including temporary flight restrictions (TFRs)  often triggered by natural disasters such as forest fires. 

The FAA stressed that under the modernization NOTAM data is presented in “plain language” rather than the sometimes difficult to interpret acronyms, thus making it easier to understand and therefore apply. The new system became incrementally operational in September. 

The agency also noted that many pilots probably were already using plain language NOTAMs accessed by computer and delivered as part of their preflight briefing through an electronic flight bag (EFB).

According to the FAA, the focus is on implementing the NMS and onboarding all systems and individuals involved from origination to distribution and receipt of NOTAM data.

There are three ways to have your NOTAMs be presented—domestic, ICAO, or plain language. It is in the best interest of learner pilots to be able to utilize all three formats, at least until the FAA decides to drop the domestic format.