A new modernized system to alert pilots of airspace restrictions and obstructions is set for roll-out later this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in an announcement on April 21.
The new Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) services’ deployment schedule marks a sharp acceleration of previous estimates for the project.
The earlier deployment date is the product of a what FAA described a streamlined, innovative challenge that selected CGI Federal, Inc., to modernize and deploy NOTAM systems.
CGI is on schedule to deliver the service by July 2025, with a targeted deployment date of September 2025, FAA said.
“The Notice to Airmen system is deeply outdated and showing serious cracks,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen multiple system outages ground regional air travel, create extensive delays, and otherwise ruin the flying experience for the American people.”
“NOTAM modernization is the first step as we work to deliver an all-new air traffic control system that makes air travel safer and more efficient,” he added.
According to the FAA, more than four million NOTAMs are issued annually and alert flight personnel to temporary or time-sensitive changes to the airspace, airports, or procedures and equipment.
The modernized systems will provide “near-real-time” data exchange, enable efficient dataflows, and better collaboration while being hosted in a secure cloud environment with a scalable and resilient architecture.
The FAA has been under pressure over the last few years to modernize its systems and equipment after several incidents stemming from legacy systems caused mass delays and what the Government Accountability Office has called “critical” impacts on airspace operations.
In January 2023, the FAA experienced a widespread NOTAM system failure which resulted in the first nationwide airline ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001, causing the delay and cancelation of thousands of flights. A second outage in February 2025 left NOTAM systems running on a backup system for several hours.
Shortly following the incident in 2023, the FAA said it was aiming for modernization work on the system to be completed by fiscal year 2025.
Beyond NOTAM systems, lawmakers and Federal officials have raised concerns about other legacy systems and equipment used by the FAA, namely U.S. air traffic control (ATC) systems, with lawmakers citing GAO’s report that said over 100 of the FAA’s 138 systems are unsustainable.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has since pledged to work with Duffy and the FAA to modernize ATC systems, according to White House advisor who made the vow in a series of social media posts in February.
“Americans deserve the best aviation system in the world,” said Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau in a statement about the NOTAM modernizations. “We worked with the best and brightest and came up with an accelerated approach to bring our technology into the 21st Century.”