The acronym NOTAM came into common use following the ratification of the CICA, which went into effect on 4 April 1947,11 although early recorded use of the "Notice to Airmen" heading can be found in Flight International magazine in the UK.12 Notices to airmen were normally published in a regular publication by each country's air authorities, as in the UK.13
Several developments and amendments to the CICA have resulted in the more automated system available today. At some point in the past, the NOTAM system became web-aware.14
In July 2017, Air Canada Flight 759 nearly crashed into four other airliners as it attempted to land on a San Francisco taxiway misidentified as a runway: the adjacent runway was closed, but the information was buried in the NOTAM. In September 2018, as a consequence of the findings of its investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated NOTAMs were unintelligible and ignored. The NTSB recommended more effective presentation of relevant information. NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt described NOTAMs as "a bunch of garbage that nobody pays any attention to". This led to an initiative of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to reform the NOTAM system.15
In early 2014, Russia occupied Crimea and as part of the takeover, Russia issued a new code, URFV to cover the Crimean airspace. The Ukrainian air controller has since been forced to issue NOTAMs under the UKFV code, basically a verbatim repeater.1617 As a result, all the UKFV NOTAMs advising about this area affix this note:18
In the run-up to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities closed large parts of the Black Sea, the Kerch Strait, and almost the entire Sea of Azov "for missile and artillery live fire exercises." A spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry protested the Russian NOTAMs over this unprecedentedly large exercise area, which essentially obstructed international shipping and had economic consequences for Ukrainian ports such as Mariupol.19
NOTAMs are issued (and reported) for several reasons, such as:
Aviation authorities typically exchange NOTAMs over Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network (AFTN) circuits.20
Software allows pilots to identify NOTAMs near their intended route or at the intended destination. Some complain that the volume and increasing triviality of NOTAMs has reduced their usefulness.21
In the U.S. Air Force information technology enterprise, C4 NOTAMs (command, control, communications, and computer notices to airmen) are notices of new or updated Air Force Network Operating Instructions (AFNOIs). Often, these notices serve to direct Air Force computer administrators to install security updates or change the configuration of computer systems.22
Flight planning applications for electronic flight bag can help decipher and better organize NOTAMs.23
The following describes ICAO NOTAMs. NOTAMs are published using all upper case letters. Some countries, such as the United States, may diverge from the following ICAO standards.
This is a typical NOTAM for London Heathrow airport:
This decodes into the following:
In the United States, NOTAMs are classified by the FAA into five categories:24
From left to right, U.S. NOTAMs contain the following elements:
These NOTAMS are likely to use FAA-specific abbreviations.
Tok Junction Airport has an unverified vehicle that is abandoned on its runway.
Los Angeles International's VOR is out of service.
There is an airshow being held at Oshkosh airport with aircraft flying 5,000 feet and below within a 5 nautical mile radius. Avoidance is advised from 2000 UTC on July 15, 2007, until 2200 on July 15, 2007.
On 11 January 2023, the US NOTAM system failed, which grounded all domestic flights until 9:00 AM EST (UTC-5) the same day.2627
Wragg, David W. (1973). A Dictionary of Aviation (first ed.). Osprey. p. 203. ISBN 9780850451634. 9780850451634 ↩
"Notices to Airmen". www.icao.int. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20211201194917/https://www.icao.int/safety/istars/pages/notams.aspx ↩
"FAA Order 7930.2S, Change 2, "Notices to Air Men (NOTAM)" (PDF). www.faa.gov. https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/7930.2S_Chg_2_dtd_12-2-21.pdf ↩
"What is a NOTAM? Notice to Airman (NOTAMs)". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 11 February 2025. https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/notam/what_is_a_notam ↩
"Notifying airspace users of drone and remotely piloted events or activity | Civil Aviation Authority". www.caa.co.uk. Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2025. https://www.caa.co.uk/drones/airspace-and-restrictions/notifying-airspace-users-of-drone-and-remotely-piloted-events-or-activity/ ↩
"Airspace notification of air displays and flypasts | Civil Aviation Authority". www.caa.co.uk. Civil Aviation Authority. https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/flying-displays-and-special-events/airspace-notification-of-air-displays-and-flypasts/ ↩
Gilbert, Gordon (2021-12-07). "Notam Gets Gender-neutral Name in FAA Procedures Update". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2025-02-19. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-12-07/notam-gets-gender-neutral-name-faa-procedures-update ↩
"NOTAM Term Change from Notice to Air Missions to Notice to Airmen". Federal Aviation Administration. 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2025-02-19. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/orders_notices/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/1043524 ↩
Chambers, Dan (February 10, 2010). "Flight School 101: What is a NOTAM?". College of Aeronautical Science & Technology. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050309/http://www.aviator.edu/129/section.aspx/72/post/flight-school-101-what-is-a-notam ↩
"Air Force Instruction Interservice Publication 11-208" (PDF). https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a3/publication/afi11-208/afi11-208.pdf ↩
"NOTAMs and TFRs". St. Louis Downtown Airport. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved 5 March 2025. https://www.stlouisdowntownairport.com/pilot-information/notams-and-tfrs/ ↩
"Notices To Airmen", a 1921 NOTAM in Flight magazine https://web.archive.org/web/20171018071630/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1921/1921%20-%200059.html ↩
"Global repository of actual NOTAMS". International Civil Aviation Organization. Retrieved 16 April 2023. https://www.icao.int/safety/istars/pages/notams.aspx ↩
Freed, Jamie (28 April 2021). "'Bunch of garbage': Campaign to ease pilot overload from antiquated safety warnings". Reuters. Retrieved 15 June 2022. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/bunch-garbage-campaign-ease-pilot-overload-antiquated-safety-warnings-2021-04-28/ ↩
"Russia Restricts Flights Over Crimea And Black Sea". OPSGROUP. 21 April 2021. https://ops.group/blog/russia-restricts-flights-over-crimea-and-black-sea/ ↩
"Russia issues warning, restricts flight zone over Black Sea". TASS. 20 April 2021. https://tass.com/politics/1280469 ↩
"[ANALYSIS] What is Russia's actual intent in promulgating NOTAMS in the Black Sea?". Turkish Minute. 11 February 2022. https://www.turkishminute.com/2022/02/11/sis-what-is-russias-actual-intent-in-promulgating-notams-in-the-black-sea/ ↩
"Get NOTAM Data". www.icao.int. Retrieved 2024-11-03. https://www.icao.int/safety/iStars/Pages/Get-NOTAM-Data.aspx ↩
Multiple sources: Zee, Mark (March 15, 2017). "The problem of Bullshit Notams". Flight Service Bureau. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2018. "The problem of Bullshit Notams". The Opsgroup. March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316030425/http://flightservicebureau.org/the-problem-of-bullshit-notams/ ↩
"Air Force Instruction 33-115, Volume 3: Air Force Network Operating Instructions" (PDF). Air Force Departmental Publishing Office. 15 April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020095438/https://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI33-115V3.pdf ↩
Stuart “Kipp” Lau (October 26, 2018). "AINsight: Notams Are Wall of Text and Bunch of Garbage". AIN online. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/blogs/ainsight-notams-are-wall-text-and-bunch-garbage ↩
AIM, 5–1–3 "Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) System" (August 22, 2013 revision) ↩
"FAA Order JO 7930.2N, Notices to Airmen (NOTAM)". 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2014-02-26. http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/orders_notices/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/1021828 ↩
"FAA NOTAMS Statement". Federal Aviation Administration. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-notams-statement ↩
Freed, Jamie; Singh, Rajesh Kumar; Shepardson, David (2023-01-11). "U.S. flights beginning to resume after FAA system outage". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-01-11. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-faa-says-flight-personnel-alert-system-not-processing-updates-after-outage-2023-01-11/ ↩