SE Kansas News

This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, has urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide information regarding the recent Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system outages. He is joined by Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Amy Klobuchar, Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Representatives Pete Stauber and Mark DeSaulnier in pressing the agency for answers.

In their communication to the FAA's Acting Administrator Rocheleau, the legislators have requested details about the temporary outages and sought an update on modernization efforts. They emphasized the importance of the NOTAM system, stating, “Pilots rely on the NOTAM system to remain aware of safety hazards on flight routes. This system is critical to the safety of the nearly 3 million passengers who fly over the U.S. every day.”

The push for transparency follows the passage of the NOTAM Improvement Act in 2023. This legislation aims to prevent system outages by requiring the FAA to establish a task force to enhance the NOTAM system's resiliency and cybersecurity. A backup system has been operational since July 2024, but a comprehensive upgrade of the primary system remains incomplete.

The correspondence highlighted the significance of addressing the primary NOTAM system's outages, particularly those that occurred on February 1 and March 22. While acknowledging the backup system's activation during these incidents, the lawmakers expressed concern over the delays in implementing the mandated improvements.

To better understand the recent challenges, the legislators have requested specific information including the causes of the recent outages, steps being taken to avoid future issues, the activation speed and effectiveness of the backup system, and the overall progress in implementing the NOTAM Improvement Act.

In conclusion, the congressional members emphasized the need for a timely implementation of a modernized NOTAM system to ensure safe and punctual flights, urging the FAA's attention to this pressing issue.