Nov. 21, 2019
NBAA personnel were among the hundreds of people who attended live or via livestream the first-ever FAA Data Optimization Summit on Nov. 19, to learn more about current AI/NOTAM modernization efforts and what’s planned moving forward.
“This was more than an important step in changing the way pilots receive NOTAMs to safely navigate the national airspace,” said Heidi Williams, NBAA’s director of air traffic services and infrastructure, who leads the industry-wide Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) Coalition.
“The summit involved the extended industry, with participants from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association, Europe and flight plan service providers,” Williams said. “It was a fantastic day of learning about what’s new and upcoming in terms of NOTAM modernization, which is critical to the industry worldwide.”
Abby Smith, who is spearheading the FAA’s efforts on NOTAM modernization, moderated the summit, which included demonstrations and presentations. Smith noted some key milestones in NOTAM modernization.
- The Pilot Web NOTAM system sunsets Jan. 24, 2020, and pilots will use NOTAM search to access all NOTAMs.
- Domestic NOTAMs are slated to be in ICAO format in January 2021, which enables filtering and machine reading.
Among the presentations that took place at the summit, the U.S. Department of Defense demonstrated its one-stop flight planning resource that covers the globe. It allows all military pilots to filter out the “NOTAM noise” and employs “on the fly” graphical NOTAMs. After a demonstration of the general aviation online briefing portal, 1800WxBrief.com, a panel discussed upcoming changes, including “dronetams” for unmanned aircraft systems operations.
“We’re going to continue the dialogue with this larger group,” said Williams, adding that another summit is being planned for next summer. “What we’re doing on NOTAM modernization has far reaching impacts that extend beyond the domestic airspace.”