Hundreds of flights in the United States were affected after a compute outage in the Federal Aviation Administration system that provides pilots with notices they need to read before flying.
The system known as NOTAM — or Notice to Air Missions – system is not able to provide information to flights, resulting the chaos.
It’s unclear how many flights will be affected, because some airlines may be able to operate without information from the system, known as the NOTAMS — or Notice to Air Missions – system. FlightAware, which tracks delays and cancellations, showed nearly 1,200 flights to, from and within the United States as being delayed as of 6:45 am ET, but only 93 flights canceled so far, CNN reported.
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What is NOTAM?
A NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means. It states the abnormal status of a component of the National Airspace System (NAS) – not the normal status, according to FAA’s website.
NOTAMs concern the establishment, condition, or change of any facility, service, procedure or hazard in the NAS. It indicates the real-time and abnormal status of the NAS impacting every user and have a unique language using special contractions to make communication more efficient.
In 1947, it was agreed to being issuing NOTAMs via telecommunications. NOTAMs were modelled after Notice to Mariners, which advised ship captains of hazards in navigating the high seas.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the leading authority for standardizing contractions in the international aeronautical community. If there is no ICAO contraction, plain language is used.
In absence of NOTAMs, planes might hit flock of birds and remain unaware of slippery conditions on runways.
Working to Restore NOTAM, Says FAA
The FAA said it is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. “We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress,” it said.
The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now.Operations across the National Airspace System are affected.
We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
While some functions are beginning to come back on line, the administration said National Airspace System operations remain limited.
Cleared Update No. 2 for all stakeholders: ⁰⁰The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage. ⁰⁰While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited.— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.
Update 3: The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage.⁰⁰The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden has been briefed by the Secretary of Transportation this morning on the FAA system outage.
“The President has been briefed by the Secretary of Transportation this morning on the FAA system outage. There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes. The FAA will provide regular updates,” she tweeted.
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