What it stands for
NOTAM originally meant Notice to Airmen. In the United States the FAA now calls it a Notice to Air Missions; internationally it is still often Notice to Airmen. Either way it is the same thing: an official, time-limited notice of a change to the aviation system.
A NOTAM has a number, a location, a start and an end time. When it expires, the change it describes is over. "PERM" means the change is permanent until the charts catch up.
The kinds that matter
- Runway and taxiway closures. The most consequential for an airport's capacity. A closed runway can be the reason for a ground delay program.
- Navaids out of service. An ILS glideslope or a VOR that is down. In low clouds this can force a different approach or runway.
- Lighting. Approach or runway lights out, which matters at night and in poor visibility.
- Airspace and TFRs. Temporary flight restrictions for VIP movements, stadiums, wildfires and space launches are issued as FDC NOTAMs. See the current TFRs.
- Obstacles. A new crane near the approach path, often with its height and whether it is lit.
- Procedures. Changes to published approaches and departures, usually technical.
How to read one
NOTAMs are written in capital letters with fixed abbreviations. For example:
!JFK 10/221 JFK RWY 13L/31R CLSD 2610241400-2610242300
Read it as: a notice from JFK, number 10/221, about JFK: runway 13L/31R is closed from 14:00 UTC to 23:00 UTC on October 24, 2026. Common abbreviations:
| RWY / TWY | Runway / taxiway |
| CLSD | Closed |
| U/S | Unserviceable, out of service |
| ILS, GP, LOC | Instrument landing system, its glidepath and localizer |
| BTN | Between |
| OBST, LGT | Obstacle, lighted |
| AGL / MSL | Height above ground / above mean sea level |
Why there are so many
A large airport routinely has more than a hundred active NOTAMs. Most are about lights, cranes and taxiway signs.
That volume is why pilots and airlines filter them, and why this site shows each airport's most important NOTAMs first: runway closures and navaid outages before obstacle lights. Every airport has a full list in plain English, for example JFK or O'Hare, with the FAA's original text one tap away.
Translations on this site are automatic and can be wrong. The FAA text is the authority, and nothing here is for navigation.
NOTAMs in the Cockpit app
Every US airport's NOTAMs translated to plain English, with closed runways drawn on the airport map.
