The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) experienced another outage of its Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system on Saturday, leaving pilots and flight crews without access to critical safety messages for more than three hours. The FAA confirmed that the disruption was due to a hardware failure, marking the second incident this year after a similar glitch in early February.
Following the outage, the FAA reset the system and resumed normal operations. The agency stated that it is investigating the root cause while closely monitoring the system’s stability.
The NOTAM system is a vital component of U.S. aviation, providing essential safety information such as runway closures, unlit taxiway lights, and nearby parachute activity. During the outage, the FAA assured that all active NOTAMs remained available until the incident occurred.
This latest disruption has renewed concerns over the fragility of the nation’s aging air traffic control infrastructure. On Friday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced plans to unveil a comprehensive proposal next week aimed at drastically overhauling the system.
The issue echoes a major NOTAM failure in January 2023, which triggered the first nationwide ground stop since 9/11, affecting over 11,000 flights. The FAA previously stated it intends to phase out the outdated NOTAM system by mid-2025, but industry experts argue that the process is moving too slowly.
During a recent congressional hearing, Nick Daniels, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, emphasized the urgency of replacing the aging system. Daniels warned that at least $354 million is required to fully replace the NOTAM infrastructure, while $154 million is needed just for further research into a modernized solution.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has also flagged the FAA’s air traffic control technology as unsustainable, with one-third of the systems deemed outdated and in need of replacement.
As flight disruptions and safety risks mount, pressure is growing on the FAA and lawmakers to expedite the modernization of the NOTAM system, ensuring safer and more reliable air travel across the United States.
