Lawmakers Request Answers On NOTAM Outages
Lawmakers are pressing the FAA for information on NOTAM system outages following recent events where the system failed for several hours.
Several members of Congress are calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to provide detailed information about recent outages of the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system.
In an April 9 statement, a bipartisan group of Senators expressed their concern noting, “We write to you to request information on the recent temporary outages of the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system as well as an update on efforts to modernize the system. Pilots rely on the NOTAM system to remain aware of safety hazards on flight routes. This system is critical to the safety of the nearly 3 million passengers who fly over the U.S. every day.”
The letter references two major outages on Feb. 1, 2025 and March 22, 2025, when the NOTAM system failed for several hours.
Lawmakers have requested information from the FAA regarding the recent NOTAM outages, including the causes, steps being taken to prevent future disruptions, the activation and effectiveness of the backup system, and updates on the implementation of the NOTAM Improvement Act.
In 2023, the FAA said it planned to discontinue an older NOTAM system by mid-2025, according to a report from Reuters.
“Travelers deserve flights that are safe and on time. We urge you to ensure that a modernized NOTAM system is implemented in a timely manner,” the letter concluded.
