WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) announced the passage of their bipartisan amendment to provide funding to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which alerts personnel to potential safety hazards along a route. This amendment supports the implementation of the NOTAM Improvement Act, which was led by Senators Klobuchar, Moran, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN), and signed into law in June. The law requires the FAA to upgrade the NOTAM system and create a backup system by September 2024.
“The NOTAM Improvement Act is critical to making sure that travelers across the nation can rely on safe and dependable flights," said Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan amendment will strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of this air travel system by ensuring it receives the necessary funding to prevent outages.”
“The complete failure of the FAA’s NOTAM system stranded millions of Americans and was a warning of the need to strengthen and modernize our air travel system,” said Moran. “The FAA has a responsibility to make certain air travel in our country is as safe and efficient as possible. This amendment will make certain the FAA has the authority and resources it needs to make the necessary upgrades to the NOTAM system.”
This amendment passed as part of bipartisan appropriations bills that will support America’s farmers and veterans and strengthen our infrastructure, housing, military bases, and more.
The NOTAM Improvement Act was introduced by Klobuchar, Moran, and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Representative Stauber (R-MN) following the NOTAM system failure in January 2023 that grounded all flights nationwide.
In addition to requiring upgrades to the system, the NOTAM Improvement Act also creates a task force composed of representatives from air carriers, airports, and airline pilot, aircraft dispatcher, and FAA personnel unions, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts.
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