New possibilities, new challenges New NOTAM format

By Caroline Doucet, manager, standards and procedures, AIM and IFP Design, NAV Canada

NAV Canada has introduced a new way to communicate with pilots about changes to aeronautical services, procedures, and hazards. In October 2019, the air navigation service provider began providing its notice to airmen – or NOTAM – in the ICAO format, which is widely used internationally.

The adoption of the ICAO NOTAM format – already used by most countries – eliminates the need for pilots who fly international routes to be familiar with more than one NOTAM format.

While adapting the new format is a significant change, it is also a stepping stone towards new possibilities.

Under the new ICAO NOTAM format, the notices are now geographically referenced. This paves the way for more advanced filtering functionality, reducing NOTAM clutter by helping pilots access just the NOTAM that are pertinent to their flight.

“NOTAM are crucial for pilots to ensure safety during their flights. Moving towards an international standard is a necessary step to ensure that all pilots can access this vital information,” said Jeff Dawson, NAV Canada’s director, ATS Standards.

NOTAM are essential in decision making as pilots rely on NOTAM for their safety and that of their passengers. For example, NOTAM help pilots determine how much fuel is needed and whether the status of the destination airport’s runway will afford a safe landing.

New challenges: To NOTAM or not to NOTAM?

NOTAMs are issued to pilots on short notice to notify them of conditions or changes in the aeronautical facilities, services, procedures, or hazards. They are issued as a safety measure, but too many NOTAM presents a problem. Pilots must sift through many pages of NOTAM with only a few minutes before a flight.

In deciding to issue a NOTAM or not, airport authorities and other originators are presented with two key challenges:

• How “short” is “short notice” (what other options are available), and

• What is necessary for pilots to know?

While the new ICAO NOTAM format allows filtering to include only NOTAMs pertinent to a particular flight – a feature that NAV Canada continues to improve – the sheer volume of NOTAM presents a problem.

In Canada alone, over 120,000 NOTAM are issued yearly. The bulk of NOTAM issued concern aerodrome status, such as runway closure, fuel availability, or change in hours of operations. Airport authorities have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that only the unplanned, necessary, and critical information is available by NOTAM and that the information is clear and simple.

Adding to these challenges is the fact that it’s hard to decide what a pilot will consider necessary. And what is operationally significant in one context may not be in another context. To help minimize the NOTAM footprint, airport operators need to engage in dialog with their customers and their local air traffic services to understand the implication of issuing versus not issuing a NOTAM.

For example, a NOTAM may not be necessary if there is advance notification of permanent changes coordinated with NAV Canada, or if a planned and temporary change of long duration is communicated with a detailed description and illlustrations as an AIP Supplement.

The Canadian NOTAM Operating Procedures manual also provides guidance to originators to ensure NOTAM are issued effectively. The manual can be downloaded free of charge at navcanada.ca.

With the ICAO NOTAM format now in use, NAV Canada is turning its sight to further improve the quality of the NOTAM system as a whole by facilitating the dialog between NOTAM originators and users.

To learn more about the ICAO NOTAM transition, visit www. navcanada.ca/icaonotam, and provide your feedback by contacting service@navcanada.ca.