The FAA has retained the notam acronym but changed its wording from Notices to Airmen to a gender-neutral Notices to Air Missions. This name change is embedded without any fanfare in an extensive update to notam procedures that includes multiple amendments and corrections.
Significant revisions include updated requirements for runway condition codes (RwyCCs) allowing for only one set of RwyCCs per runway; the removal of braking action reports of “good” as a notam criteria; and changing the reference to the 28−day publication cycle for international and domestic notices to an on−demand basis with an allotted 10 days for processing.
Changes also set the same notam criteria for both the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) and the Federal Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS), regardless of who maintains them. Notam procedures also now include more detail for describing reduced performance of runway approach light systems—“unserviceable” previously was the only option.
Meanwhile, more gender-neutral name changes are expected at the agency. In February, the FAA tasked its drone advisory committee to develop recommendations for gender-neutral language as an alternative to gender-specific terms. Some examples were unmanned aircraft to uncrewed aircraft; repairman to technician; airman to aviator; and manmade to manufactured.