FAA Completes First Phase of New Notam System

The FAA has completed the first phase of its long-planned upgrade of the notam system, the agency announced on Tuesday. Implementation followed the initial deployment of the new cloud-based Notam Management Service (NMS) on September 29, which enabled the agency to test and validate the system with “early user adopters.” These included organizations such as AOPA and flight information providers.

In April, the FAA shut down the backend of the previous 40-year-old system that U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said was “on the verge of complete collapse” and moved users over to the NMS. The FAA said the new service will prevent airspace shutdowns caused by outages of the aging system, while enhancing safety and improving communications.

In addition to improving reliability, the cloud-based NMS offers a streamlined, modern interface that can accommodate future enhancements, such as changes to how notams are formatted. The agency said it provides for near-real-time data exchange to enable more efficient data flow and stakeholder collaboration.

While previously estimated to be in place in 2027, the project was expedited by the FAA, which used a streamlined vendor challenge. The FAA worked with CGI Federal and collaborated with stakeholders to implement it this year. As for the next phase, plans call to shut down the other legacy system, the Federal Notam Service, later this year.

“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.”