Shoring Up the Cracks

On 23 March 2023, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA)—the Washington D.C.-based non-profit founded to foster the prosperity of business aviation in the United States and worldwide—announced that the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation had unanimously approved amendments proposed by the NBAA and industry stakeholders pertaining to legislation germane to the improvement of the United States’ Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) system.

The amendments to Senate Bill 66, the NOTAM Improvement Act of 2023, call, predictably, upon the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to complete implementation of an overhauled and substantially improved Federal NOTAM System (FNS). Subject system is critical to the safe operation of aircraft within the United States’ National Airspace System (NAS).

NOTAMs provide real-time information vis-à-vis airports and airspace by which aircraft operators may better ensure flights are conducted safely and efficiently. However, an 11 January 2023 failure of the NOTAM system occasioned the grounding of an estimated ten-thousand U.S. flights and delayed scores more. The incident compelled the FAA to concede the NOTAM system was flawed and precipitated the aforementioned NOTAM Improvement Act.

An amendment approved 22 March calls for the FAA to implement a new FNS, with an accompanying backup system in place to mitigate the impact of primary system outages, by an accelerated deadline of 30 September 2024.

Another amendment proposed by NBAA acknowledges a longstanding aviation industry coalition’s work to overhaul the NOTAM system and prioritize safety-focused information. The group—comprising representatives of general aviation, commercial airline, ATC, and regulatory stakeholders and led by NBAA Senior Director of Air Traffic Services and Infrastructure Heidi Williams—submitted its recommendations to the FAA in 2020.

The agency subsequently undertook efforts to modernize the processes by which NOTAMs are compiled and disseminated, including implementation of the coalition’s recommendation that an Aeronautical Information Systems Office be established within the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization for purpose of providing aircraft operators a singular and concise point of reference to which questions pertaining to aeronautical information may be submitted.

NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen thanked the Senate committee for approving the amendments and commended S.66 sponsor Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota) and bill co-sponsors Senators Jerry Moran (Republican, Kansas) and Shelley Moore Caputo (Republican, West Virginia).

Mr. Bolen stated: “This legislation is an important opportunity to address and remedy current NOTAM limitations through careful application of the latest technologies. We must ensure that NOTAMs are not only readily available to pilots, but that the system is also resilient and relevant, with prioritization of the most critical safety information focused on operational requirements.”

S.66 is the Senate’s version of House Resolution 346, which was introduced in the lower house by Congressman Pete Stauber (Republican, Minnesota) and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (Democrat, California) and passed by the House in January. The amended bill will next move to the Senate floor for consideration.

Mr. Bolen concluded: “We further thank Representatives Stauber and DeSaulnier, House Aviation Subcommittee Chair Representative Garret Graves (Republican, Louisiana) and member Representative Rick Larsen (Democrat, Washington State) for their leadership on this matter, and look forward to working with them to move an amended bill through the House.”

FMI: www.nbaa.org