NOTAM
Encyclopedia
NOTAM or NoTAM is the quasi-acronym for a "Notice To Airmen". NOTAMs are created and transmitted by government agencies and airport operators under guidelines specified by Annex 15: Aeronautical Information Services of the Convention on International Civil Aviation
(CICA). The term NOTAM came into common use rather than the more formal Notice to Airmen following the ratification of the CICA, which came into effect on April 4, 1947. Notices to Airmen were normally published in a regular publication (for example: Flight Magazine in the UK) by each country's air authorities. A number of developments and amendments to the CICA have resulted in the more automated system available today.
A NOTAM is filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots
of any hazards en route or at a specific location. The authority in turn provides a means of disseminating relevant NOTAMs to pilots.
Aviation authorities typically exchange NOTAMs over AFTN
circuits.
Software is available to allow pilots to identify NOTAMs near their intended route or at the intended destination.
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.
In Joint Task Forces NOTAMs is the common term for "Notice to All Members."
The first line contains NOTAM identification (series, sequence number and year of issue), the type of operation (NEW, REPLACE, CANCEL), as well as a reference to a previously-issued NOTAM (for NOTAMR and NOTAMC only).
The 'Q' line holds (basic-remove) information about who the NOTAM affects along with a basic NOTAM description. This line can be encoded/decoded from tables defined by ICAO.
The 'A' line is the ICAO code of the affected aerodrome or FIR
for the NOTAM. The area of influence of the NOTAM can be several hundreds of kilometres away from the originating aerodrome.
The 'B' line contains the start time and date, the 'C' line the finish time and date of the NOTAM. The date is in a USA date format of YY/MM/DD and the times are given in Universal Co-ordinated Time; also known as GMT or Zulu time.
Sometimes a 'D' line may be present. This gives a miscellaneous diurnal
time for the NOTAM if the hours of effect are less than 24 hours a day.
E.g. parachute
dropping exercises tend to occur for short periods of a few hours during the day, but may be repeated over many days.
The 'E' line is the full NOTAM description. It is in English but heavily abbreviated. These abbreviations can be encoded/decoded by tables defined by ICAO.
When present, 'F' and 'G' lines detail the height restrictions of the NOTAM. Typically SFC means surface height or ground level and UNL is unlimited height. Other heights are given in feet or flight level
or a combination of the two.
Heathrow airport:
This decodes into the following:
, NOTAMs are classified by the FAA
into five categories:
NOTAM (D)
FDC NOTAMs
Pointer NOTAMs
Special Use Airspace (SUA) NOTAMs
Military NOTAMs
Convention on International Civil Aviation
The Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, established the International Civil Aviation Organization , a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel...
(CICA). The term NOTAM came into common use rather than the more formal Notice to Airmen following the ratification of the CICA, which came into effect on April 4, 1947. Notices to Airmen were normally published in a regular publication (for example: Flight Magazine in the UK) by each country's air authorities. A number of developments and amendments to the CICA have resulted in the more automated system available today.
A NOTAM is filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
of any hazards en route or at a specific location. The authority in turn provides a means of disseminating relevant NOTAMs to pilots.
Usage
NOTAMs are issued (and reported) for a number of reasons, such as:- hazards such as air-shows, parachute jumps, kite flying, rocket launches, etc.
- flights by important people such as heads of state (sometimes referred to as Temporary Flight Restrictions, TFRs)
- closed runways
- inoperable radio navigational aids
- military exercises with resulting airspace restrictions
- inoperable lights on tall obstructions
- temporary erection of obstacles near airfields (e.g. cranes)
- passage of flocks of birds through airspace (a NOTAM in this category is known as a BIRDTAM)
- notifications of runway/taxiway/apron status with respect to snow, ice and standing water (a SNOWTAM)
- notification of an operationally significant change in volcanic ash or other dust contamination (an ASHTAM)
- software code risk announcements with associated patches to reduce specific vulnerabilities
Aviation authorities typically exchange NOTAMs over AFTN
AFTN
The Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network is a worldwide system of aeronautical fixed circuits provided, as part of the Aeronautical Fixed Service, for the exchange of messages and/or digital data between aeronautical fixed stations having the same or compatible communications characteristics...
circuits.
Software is available to allow pilots to identify NOTAMs near their intended route or at the intended destination.
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.
In Joint Task Forces NOTAMs is the common term for "Notice to All Members."
Format
The following describes ICAO NOTAMs, which may be different from US Domestic NOTAMs. Caution - NOTAMs are published using all upper case letters that make reading them difficult. Additionally, NOTAMs are poorly controlled and not all NOTAMs are issued using the required standards:The first line contains NOTAM identification (series, sequence number and year of issue), the type of operation (NEW, REPLACE, CANCEL), as well as a reference to a previously-issued NOTAM (for NOTAMR and NOTAMC only).
The 'Q' line holds (basic-remove) information about who the NOTAM affects along with a basic NOTAM description. This line can be encoded/decoded from tables defined by ICAO.
The 'A' line is the ICAO code of the affected aerodrome or FIR
Flight Information Region
In aviation a flight information region is a region of airspace with specific dimensions, in which a flight information service and an alerting service are provided. It is the largest regular division of airspace in use in the world today....
for the NOTAM. The area of influence of the NOTAM can be several hundreds of kilometres away from the originating aerodrome.
The 'B' line contains the start time and date, the 'C' line the finish time and date of the NOTAM. The date is in a USA date format of YY/MM/DD and the times are given in Universal Co-ordinated Time; also known as GMT or Zulu time.
Sometimes a 'D' line may be present. This gives a miscellaneous diurnal
Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
time for the NOTAM if the hours of effect are less than 24 hours a day.
E.g. parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
dropping exercises tend to occur for short periods of a few hours during the day, but may be repeated over many days.
The 'E' line is the full NOTAM description. It is in English but heavily abbreviated. These abbreviations can be encoded/decoded by tables defined by ICAO.
When present, 'F' and 'G' lines detail the height restrictions of the NOTAM. Typically SFC means surface height or ground level and UNL is unlimited height. Other heights are given in feet or flight level
Flight level
A Flight Level is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa , the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either...
or a combination of the two.
Example
This is a typical NOTAM for LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Heathrow airport:
- A1234/06 NOTAMR A1212/06
- Q)EGTT/QMXLC/IV/NBO/A/000/999/5129N00028W005
- A)EGLL
- B)0609050500
- C)0704300500
- E)DUE WIP TWY B SOUTH CLSD BTN 'F' AND 'R'. TWY 'R' CLSD BTN 'A' AND 'B' AND DIVERTED VIA NEW GREEN CL AND BLUE EDGE LGT. ADZ CTN
This decodes into the following:
- SERIES and NUMBER : A1234 issued in 2006
- NATURE OF THE NOTAM : Replacing NOTAM 1212 issued in 2006
- FIRFlight Information RegionIn aviation a flight information region is a region of airspace with specific dimensions, in which a flight information service and an alerting service are provided. It is the largest regular division of airspace in use in the world today....
: EGTT (LONDON FIR) - SUBJECT: Taxiway (MX)
- CONDITION: Closed (LC)
- TRAFFIC: NOTAM issued for IFRInstrument flight rulesInstrument flight rules are one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other are visual flight rules ....
(I) flights and VFRVisual flight rulesVisual flight rules are a set of regulations which allow a pilot to operate an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minimums, as specified in the rules of the...
flights (V) - PURPOSE: NOTAM selected for immediate attention of aircraft operators (N)
- PURPOSE: NOTAM selected for PIB entry (B)
- PURPOSE: NOTAM Concerning Flight operations (O)
- SCOPE: Aerodrome
- GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION : 51°29' N 000° 28' W
- OPERATIONAL RADIUS OF THE NOTAM : 5 NM
- AERODROME : London Heathrow (EGLL)
- FROM: 05:00 UTC 5 September 2006
- UNTIL:05:00 UTC 30 April 2007
- CATEGORY: Aerodromes, Air Routes and Ground Aids
- DESCRIPTION: Due to work in progress, Taxiway 'B South' is closed between 'F' AND 'R'. Taxiway 'R' is closed between 'A' and 'B' and is diverted via a new green centre line and blue edge lighting. Advise caution.
US domestic NOTAMs
In United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, NOTAMs are classified by the FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
into five categories:
NOTAM (D)
- A NOTAM (D) information is disseminated for all navigational facilities that are part of the National Airspace SystemNational Airspace SystemThe National Airspace System of the United States is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world — consisting of thousands of people, procedures, facilities, and pieces of equipment — that enables safe and expeditious air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's...
(NAS), all public use airports, seaplane bases, and heliports listed in the Airport/Facility DirectoryAirport/Facility DirectoryThe Airport/Facility Directory , in the U.S., is a pilot’s manual that provides comprehensive information on airports, large and small, and other aviation facilities and procedures.-Description:...
(A/FD) (e.g., such information as whether or not an airport or a certain facility is usable). NOTAM (D) information includes, among other topics, such data as taxiway closures, personnel and equipment near or crossing runways, and airport lighting aids that do not affect instrument approachInstrument approachFor aircraft operating under instrument flight rules , an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point...
criteria, such as VASI.
FDC NOTAMs
- The National Flight Data Center will issue these NOTAMs when it becomes necessary to disseminate information that is regulatory in nature, and they contain such things as amendments to published IAPs and other current aeronautical chartAeronautical chartAn aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap for drivers...
s. They are also used to advertise temporary flight restrictions caused by such things as natural disasters or large-scale public events that may generate congestion of air traffic over a site.
Pointer NOTAMs
- NOTAMs issued by a flight service station to highlight or point out another NOTAM, such as an FDC or NOTAM (D) NOTAM. This type of NOTAM will assist users in cross-referencing important information that may not be found under an airport or NAVAID identifier.
Special Use Airspace (SUA) NOTAMs
- SUA NOTAMs are issued when SUASpecial use airspaceSpecial use airspace , is an area designated for operations of a nature such that limitations may be imposed on aircraft not participating in those operations. Often these operations are of a military nature...
will be active outside the published schedule times and when required by the published schedule.
Military NOTAMs
- NOTAMs pertaining to U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine, and Navy navigational aidNavigational aidA navigational aid is any sort of marker which aids the traveler in navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel...
s/airports that are part of the NAS.