On January 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would improve the FAA’s outdated Air Mission Notice (NOTAM) system to prevent another accident like January 11. 9/11 terrorist attacks.
NOTAM is a key element of flight safety used to notify flight crew of operational changes such as airport closures, runway usage, weather and airspace restrictions. In fact, the FAA requires a pilot to check his NOTAM before departure.
The January outage wreaked havoc on the country’s airspace system, with disruptions affecting millions of travelers. According to FlightAware.com, more than 1,300 flights were canceled during the nearly two-hour ground hold, and he delayed nearly 10,000 flights across the United States.
The FAA said the outage was not caused by a cyberattack, but rather by a mistake made by a contractor servicing the NOTAM system during routine maintenance. In a statement, the FAA said it was “taking steps to make the NOTAM system more resilient. We are acting quickly to adopt other lessons.”
However, the recent crash has led many industry players and members of Congress to put pressure on government agencies to continue improving the outdated system.
On Wednesday, the bill known as the NOTAM Improvements Act of 2023, introduced by Rep. Pete Stover (R-Minnesota) and co-sponsored by Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-California), won a 424-to-4 overwhelming majority. was passed. This is his third time that similar language has passed in the House, but it has been at a standstill in the Senate.
The NOTAM Improvements Act of 2023 calls for a task force appointed by the FAA Commissioner to review and reform the current system. Industry stakeholders, including pilots, airline executives, union officials, air traffic controllers, and other computer system experts, comprise the task force. The bill also aims to make NOTAM more stable and safer from cyberattacks.
“The failure of the NOTAM system earlier this month highlighted the need to upgrade our program to ensure the safety of pilots, their crews and passengers,” Stauber said. I’ve been hearing about the NOTAM system’s vulnerabilities from , and my bill has passed the House twice before, so it’s time for the Senate to pass this important piece of legislation before another failure of the NOTAM system occurs. came.”
“Following the FAA meltdown earlier this month, it has become clearer than ever that we must improve our aviation safety systems,” DeSaulnier said in a statement.
The bill’s passage is because Congress is set to reauthorize FAA funding for the next five years. The FAA continues to update its NOTAM system and plans to transition to standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization to be completed by 2024.
