The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Notice To Air Missions (NOTAM) system has failed for the first time in history. The system, critical for relaying essential information to flights, has been out since yesterday evening, and it’s starting to affect services in and out of the USA.The FAA notified that the system was down via an Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) Advisory, stating that the US NOTAM system failed at 2028Z (20:28 Zulu, or UTC). It said that technicians were working to restore the system but that there was no estimated time for the resolution of the problem.In a further update, issued at 10:58 UTC today, the FAA confirmed that the outage continues, saying that:

THE NOTAMS OUTAGE CONTINUES WITH NO CURRENT ESTIMATED TIME OF RESTORATION.

A HOTLINE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED; THE PHONE NUMBER AND PIN IS LISTED IN ADVISORY 015.

UPDATE: 2023/01/11 12:26 EST BY JOANNA BAILEY

FAA confirms Ground Stop until 09:00 Eastern Time

In the last few minutes, the FAA has issued confirmation of a Ground Stop on domestic departures until 09:00 Eastern Time. In a tweet the Administration said:

UPDATE: 2023/01/11 12:55 EST BY JOANNA BAILEY

US DOT launches investigation

In a tweet, US Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the President is aware of the situation and that there is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point. However, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will launch a full investigation.

UPDATE: 2023/01/11 14:51 EST BY JOANNA BAILEY

Flights resuming across the system

The FAA has said that normal air traffic operations are resuming slowly. It notes that the ground stop has been lifted and that it will continue to look into the root cause of the issue.

Flights affected

Some passengers are reporting delays to their flights, with some saying they’ve been held for several hours pending resolution of the NOTAM problem.

The FAA has published on its website that a Ground Stop (pause on all flight activity) could be possible at Houston Intercontinental, Minneapolis St Paul, San Francisco and Memphis International. Rumors online of a nationwide Ground Stop are circulating online, but the FAA is yet to confirm this.

Restoring service

At approximately 11:40 UTC today, the FAA issued an update saying that it was getting there with a fix. It said that although all flights were being affected, it is reloading the system. This gives hope that normal operation will resume shortly.

Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that approximately 20% of flights out of London Heathrow are delayed this morning. The majority of those are heading to the USA, with passengers also reporting that crew are advising they are unable to take off until they get word from the FAA. At present, delays are estimated to be no longer than around 20 minutes, but that's likely to be updated until such time as the NOTAM issue is resolved.

What exactly is the NOTAM system?

The NOTAM is a notice containing important information for people working in flight operations. It is used for last-minute communications that are difficult to publicize by other means. Originally abbreviated from 'Notice To Air Men,' the FAA adopted a more gender-neutral definition of 'Notice To Air Missions' in 2021.

The system relays information about changes in conditions such as weather, volcanic activity, airspace restrictions and other factors, as well as unusual events such as parachute jumps, rocket launches and military exercises. It also advises pilots of extraordinary situations at airports, including icing, malfunctioning lights and the presence of flocks of birds.

The NOTAM system is deemed essential to safe flight operations. While there are more modern means of communication available today, it remains the go-to messenger service for last-minute advisories for pilots and ground operatives. As such, any delay experienced due to the outage of the NOTAM software is necessary to ensure a safe flight, which is something we can all be grateful for.