WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a recent U.S. Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) system outage that grounded flights nationwide, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, joined her Senate colleagues Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) to introduce the bipartisan NOTAM Improvement Act to help prevent future Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outages.
“After the Notice to Air Missions system failure grounded air traffic in the United States on January 11th, it is imperative that a group of aviation experts be assembled to look at ways to improve this vital safety system,” Senator Capito said. “That’s exactly what our legislation would do, and I am proud to help lead this effort that will help strengthen the NOTAM system for pilots and essential personnel. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill passed quickly and sent to the president’s desk.”
BACKGROUND:
The NOTAM Improvement Act would require the FAA to establish a task force to strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of safety and location hazards on flight routes. The task force would be composed of representatives from air carriers, airports, and airline pilot, aircraft dispatcher, and FAA personnel unions, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts. Representative Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), who has previously introduced legislation to improve the NOTAM system, introduced companion legislation that passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 424-4 on Wednesday, January 25.
Full text of legislation is available here.
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