Late Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) adopted a backup system for issuing safety alerts to pilots following a temporary outage of its primary Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that while the NOTAM system was down, the backup ensured that the National Airspace System remained unaffected.

The NOTAM alerts are crucial for communicating vital information regarding air traffic, including hazards like closed runways and navigational signal issues. Duffy stated on social media that the FAA is diligently working to restore the primary system, promising updates every 30 minutes while acknowledging potential residual flight delays on Sunday morning.

Spanning more than 29 million square miles, the U.S. airspace comprises both controlled and uncontrolled areas over land and sea. Historically, the FAA's NOTAM system has faced outages, such as the significant interruption in January 2023, which resulted in a nationwide halt of departures for approximately 90 minutes. As efforts continue to modernize the NOTAM framework, officials remain focused on maintaining seamless communication for pilot safety.

This situation is ongoing, with updates from the FAA expected as the agency navigates the issue.