NBAA stressed that long-stranding issues with the U.S. notam system must be addressed, adding that yesterday's outage of the system further highlighted the need for action. Following a glitch in the notam system, the FAA yesterday issued a temporary ground stop, affecting thousands of flights.
The association noted that it has been asking the agency to improve the resiliency of the notam system since 2018 to ensure that backup capabilities are in place. Co-chairing the Aeronautical Information System (AIS) reform coalition, NBAA has been working with a cross-section of the industry—including airlines, airports, and other stakeholders—to push for the introduction of additional systems, redundancies, and upgrades.
The U.S. has the largest and safest air traffic control system, maintained Heidi Williams, NBAA senior director of air traffic services and infrastructure and AIS coalition co-chair. She added, however, that the notam outage served as a reminder that when problems are identified, proven solutions must be developed.