New NOTAM Management Service Boots Old and Worn-Out Tech

After years of not-so-patiently waiting through technological mishaps and costly outages, pilots are finally getting the update they’ve been asking for: a shiny new Notice to Airmen system. The previous tech had been in place since 1985 and, in more recent times, has triggered multiple large-scale delays.

While several examples come to mind, the most significant NOTAM failure was in January 2023. The system outage resulted in the first nationwide ground stop since 2001, affecting over 11,000 flights in the process. Eventually, the incident was traced to contractors accidentally deleting thousands of crucial files.

These events have led many in the industry to say a NOTAM renovation is long overdue… but the government has a different take. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s September 30 announcement pats the FAA on the back for getting the project live months ahead of schedule.

“This is the promises made, promises kept administration. We are bringing our aviation system into the 21st century at lightning speed to enhance safety in our skies. The new NOTAM system is an important proof point of how we can quickly and effectively modernize our skies under the leadership of President Trump,” Duffy said.

The new system, called the NOTAM Management Service (NMS), is designed for the same concept of providing real-time alerts about airspace changes, this time without such frequent crashes. The NMS is also designed for better collaboration, smoother data exchange, and higher availability than the aging Federal NOTAM System (FNS) and U.S. NOTAM System (USNS) it will eventually replace.

Early adopters are already testing the software, with the FAA aiming to continue the rollout in phases. Right now, the core distribution service runs in parallel with the old system, allowing time for testing and validation. In February 2026, the FAA plans to shut down the creaky U.S. NOTAM System hardware entirely. By late spring of the same year, all 12,000-plus global NOTAM users will be migrated to NMS and the FNS will be retired.

“We built a brand-new NOTAM service from the ground up in record time,” added FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “It is resilient, user-friendly, and scalable, and will significantly improve airspace safety and efficiency.”

FMI: www.faa.gov