Nevertheless, with the FAA reauthorization coming up, Sen. Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation said in a statement that the committee “will be looking into what caused this outage and how redundancy plays a role in preventing future outages.”
If your flight is canceled, the Department of Transportation requires airlines to refund your ticket if you choose not to rebook your travel, even if you bought a nonrefundable fare. In the event of a delay, policies vary by airline, but you may be entitled to compensation based on the length of your wait and other factors.
A Notice to Air Missions is a notice that provides pilots and other flight personnel with real-time, safety information concerning flight operations and airports.
NOTAM lists potential hazards and conditions that can impact flights – from runway construction or possible icing to a change in an aeronautical facility or flight service.
Pilots are required to consult NOTAMs before starting every flight.
The FAA notes that a NOTAM “states the abnormal status of a component of the National Airspace System (NAS) – not the normal status.” The federal agency adds that NOTAMs are “not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means.”
“It’s a safety issue,” Abdelghan said. “God forbid if the pilots are not updated with abnormal conditions it might lead to some serious problems like accidents or something like that.”
The NOTAM system was telephone-based in the past, with pilots calling flight service stations for the information, but it has now moved online.
— Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY. The Associated Press
