Aviators who have struggled with the term “Notice to Air Missions” as a rebrand of “Notice to Airmen,” are now in luck: Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) has returned.
NOTAM, which went from Notice to Airmen to Notice to Air Mission in December 2021, has returned to Notice to Airmen, according to FAA notice 7930.114.
The move reverses a 176-page rule from the Biden administration-era FAA that adopted the “Notice to Air Missions” name change in order to comply with the Federal Women’s Program (FWP) suggestions, as the term Notice to Air Missions is “inclusive of all aviators and missions.” In addition, Notice to Air Missions also addressed the flight of unmanned aircraft such as drones and free balloons, neither of which have a human onboard.
NOTAMs are used to provide pilots with information about temporary flight restrictions, changes in air space, special flight operations, airport equipment outages, runway conditions, navigational outages, weather station malfunctions—pretty much anything that could affect the safety of flight.
Pilots are required to be familiar with NOTAMs along their route of flight as part of cFAR 91.103: “Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight.”
