The FAA has hit an important milestone in its effort to modernize a critical safety system in the United States’ national airspace.
The agency says it has completed the first phase of its overhaul of the “Notices to Airmen (NOTAM)” system.
This system is used to communicate key aviation safety information to pilots and flight planners as they operate flights. More than four million NOTAMs are issued every year and provide updates on temporary changes like runway closures and airspace restrictions, according to the FAA.
It’s a complex system, with multiple backup databases that have all been running on a mix of outdated software and patches of more modern technology.
In general, the old NOTAM system relied on 40-year-old technology that was prone to malfunctions and was “on the verge of complete collapse,” according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
One of the most high-profile incidents occurred when the system experienced a software glitch that made its alerts unreliable in January 2023, leading to a nationwide groundstop for all U.S. flights.
To address the ongoing issues, the FAA migrated phase one of the antiquated system into the cloud in April 2026. In this first phase of the modernization effort, the FAA shut down the legacy US NOTAM System and transitioned "thousands of users” to the new system in mid-April.
The next phase of the upgrade project will occur later this year when the FAA retires the other legacy system, called the Federal NOTAM Service. When that phase is achieved, the National Airspace will be able to rely on one streamlined NOTAM system.
“Our transition to this state-of-the-art NOTAM system strengthens safety and reliability across the National Airspace System,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “We are focused on building a modern aviation system for the future – one that is resilient, efficient, and capable of meeting the demands of the world’s busiest airspace.”
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