The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the United States (US) Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system has failed. The agency is yet to provide an estimate of when it will be back up and running once again.
The FAA advisory that the NOTAM system has failed has been in effect since 4:18 AM UTC. Since, no new NOTAMs or new amendments have been processed, indicated the agency. “Technicians are currently working to restore the system and there is no estimate for restoration of service at this time,” read the FAA’s message regarding the outage of the system. The advisory page will be updated accordingly, per the regulator.
A NOTAM is an announcement that provides essential information to all personnel involved with flight operations, including pilots, flight dispatchers, and flight planners. Separated into three classes, namely Class I (distributed by means of telecommunication), Class II (distributed by other means), and International NOTAMs, they inform crews about any changes or conditions of any component within the National Air System (NAS) in the US, for example. The components of the NAS can include airports, procedures, or en-route hazards, providing data about any abnormalities within the system.
The FAA has established a hotline to “address any additional issues and concerns”, read the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) advisory.
On January 11, 2023, at 12:23 UTC, the FAA ordered all airlines to halt domestic departures in the US until at least 9:30 AM Eastern (14:30 UTC) to “validate the integrity of flight and safety information”, read the regulator’s statement on Twitter.
As of 13:50 UTC, the agency indicated that normal operations are resuming gradually and the ground stop, which ordered all airlines to halt domestic departures, was lifted. “We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem,” said the FAA on Twitter.
AeroTime approached the FAA for comment.
UPDATE January 11, 2023, 14:25 PM (UTC +3): The article was updated with a status update from the FAA regarding the NOTAM system.
UPDATE January 11, 2023, 15:55 PM (UTC +3): The article was updated with a status update from the FAA that flight operations have been resuming gradually.