NOTAM Modernization

The FAA is modernizing the NOTAM system to improve the delivery of safety critical information to aviation stakeholders.

The agency’s goal is to provide pilots, flight crews, and other users of the National Airspace System (NAS) with NOTAMs that are relevant, timely and accurate. 

To ensure modernization efforts addresses information received from industry stakeholders that use NOTAMs, the agency is working in coordination with the Aeronautical Information Services Reform Coalition, whose members include: 

• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA),
• Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Airlines for America (A4A),
• Airports Council International (ACI), American Airlines, 
• Association of American Airport Executives (AAAE), 
• Delta Airlines, 
• International Air Transport Association (IATA), 
• JetBlue, 
• National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO),  
• National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), 
• Southwest Airlines,  
• United Airlines.
   

Progress

We’ve created a single place for pilots, operators, dispatchers, and software developers to find all FAA NOTAMs. This benefits all aviation stakeholders by reducing the number of places pilots need to check for NOTAMs. 

• Pilots, operators and dispatchers can access NOTAMs through the FAA’s NOTAM Search website which provides search, sort, and filter capabilities.
• Access for machine – to – machine data connections is provided through the NOTAM Distribution Service (NDS via the SWIM Cloud Distribution Service, and the NOTAM Application Programming Interface (API)
• The Notice to Airmen Publication (NTAP) and PilotWeb applications have been sunset. Information previously found in the NTAP is now available through the Domestic Notice and International Notices webpages.
   

Increased accuracy of aeronautical information sources:

• The agency updated all NOTAM related publications, chats, maps and databases and removed expired NOTAMs. This decreased the number of non-essential NOTAMs that pilots are required to review during pre-flight briefings. 
• Publication of Sectional Aeronautical Charts, VFR Terminal Area Charts, VFR Flyway Planning Charts and Helicopter Routes now publish on 56-day cycles and supports the reduction of chart-related ”permanent” (PERM) NOTAMs. 
   

Publication of Digital NOTAMs:

• Publishing NOTAMs in digital format makes it easier for developers of flight planning tools to convert NOTAMs into plain language and visualize them on charts and maps, which results in products that makes it easier for pilots to find the information that they need. 
• Digital NOTAMs issued by the FAA can be accessed through the NOTAM Distribution Service through the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) portal and the NOTAM API.
   

For software developers:

We’ve made changes to the way developers can access aeronautical information to create aviation applications:

Application Programming Interface (API) for NOTAM data: 

• The API provides software developers an easy way to access verified FAA aviation data such as NOTAMs, Special Activity Airspace, and Temporary Flight Restrictions.
• It is available in three formats: AIXM, GeoJSON, and custom XML. Pre-Flight Situational awareness products for pilots.

Updates to Aeronautical Common Service:

To make it easier to create pre-flight situational awareness products for pilots we integrated the aeronautical information, including NOTAMS in the Aeronautical Common Service, available via SWIM. 

Published a new Notices to Air Missions policy order that:

• Reduces the number of PERM NOTAMs pilots need to read before a flight
• Optimizes the number of field condition NOTAMs active at any given time, especially during winter weather events 

The agency continues to modernize the NOTAM System to ensure that pilots have access to aeronautical data in a safe, timely and efficient manner, alongside agency-wide adoption of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) NOTAM formatting standards.
 

For users of the Aeronautical Integrated Data Access Portal (AIDAP) transitioning to the NOTAM Distribution Service:

All AIDAP users must begin the transition process to SWIM SCDS as soon as possible. Before you begin your transition:

• Download the AIDAP user transition guide (Zip) and follow the instructions provided.
• Additional information is available in AIDAP User Transition Information (PDF).