Summary | Decoding Example | Submission | FAQ

NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) are critical notifications issued by aviation authorities to provide real-time information about any aeronautical operations or conditions that could affect the safety of flight operations. In Australia, NOTAMs are managed by Airservices Australia and provide essential updates to pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation personnel.

Key Points:

  1. Purpose and Use:

    • NOTAMs inform about temporary changes such as airspace restrictions, runway closures, navigation aid outages, or hazards like obstacles or weather conditions.
    • They are used for flight planning and are crucial for maintaining safe and efficient operations.
  2. Types of NOTAMs:

    • NOTAM D: Provides information on en-route navigational aids, airports, and airspace.
    • NOTAM C: Includes data related to the control of airspace, such as temporary changes to controlled airspace.
    • NOTAM R: Replaces a previously issued NOTAM and contains updated information.
    • NOTAM A: Relates to aerodrome-related information.
  3. Accessing NOTAMs:

  4. Importance for Drone Operators:

    • With the growth of drone operations, NOTAMs are also relevant to drone pilots, particularly for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations and when flying in controlled airspace.
    • They provide information about temporary restricted areas or hazards that might impact drone flights.
  5. Regulatory Requirements:

    • Pilots are required to check NOTAMs as part of their pre-flight briefing to ensure they have the most up-to-date information on conditions that could affect their route or operations.

In summary, NOTAMs in Australia play a vital role in ensuring aviation safety by keeping aviation personnel informed of important changes or hazards. They are accessible through various platforms and are mandatory for both manned and unmanned aircraft operations to ensure compliance and safe flying conditions.

Notam Decoding Example 

C357/24 REVIEW C355/24

OBST CRANE (LIT) 277FT AMSL ERECTED BRG 256 MAG 2.3NM FM ARP INFRINGES INNER HORIZONTAL SFC BY 83FT FROM 09 240139 TO 09 270600 DAILY 2000-0600

Detailed Breakdown

  1. NOTAM Number:
    • C357/24: This means it’s the 357th NOTAM for this location in 2024.
    • REVIEW C355/24: This indicates that it is an update or review of another NOTAM previously issued (C355/24).
  2. Subject:
    • OBST CRANE (LIT) 277FT AMSL ERECTED:
      • OBST means “Obstacle.”
      • CRANE refers to the type of obstacle.
      • (LIT) indicates that the crane is illuminated.
      • 277FT AMSL means the crane’s height is 277 feet above mean sea level.
  3. Location Details:
    • BRG 256 MAG 2.3NM FM ARP:
      • BRG stands for “Bearing,” which in this case is 256 degrees magnetic.
      • 2.3NM means 2.3 nautical miles.
      • FM ARP: This means “From Aerodrome Reference Point,” which is a fixed point at the airport used as a reference.
  4. Surface Infringement:
    • INFRINGES INNER HORIZONTAL SFC BY 83FT:
      • INFRINGES means the crane is extending into the designated airspace.
      • INNER HORIZONTAL SFC refers to the inner horizontal surface of the airport, which is an imaginary plane established for obstacle clearance.
      • BY 83FT means the crane is 83 feet above the allowable height in that airspace.
  5. Time and Validity:
    • FROM 09 240139 TO 09 270600:
      • 09 240139 means it starts on September 24th at 0139 UTC.
      • 09 270600 means it ends on September 27th at 0600 UTC.
    • DAILY 2000-0600: This indicates that the crane is operational (and potentially a hazard) daily between 2000 UTC and 0600 UTC.

Final Decoding

  • “A lit crane, 277 feet AMSL, has been erected 2.3 NM from Archerfield’s aerodrome reference point at a bearing of 256° magnetic. It infringes the inner horizontal surface by 83 feet. The crane will be in place from 24th September 0139 UTC to 27th September 0600 UTC, operational daily from 2000 UTC to 0600 UTC.”

Key Considerations During Decoding

  1. Standard ICAO Abbreviations and Terms:
    • Familiarity with aviation terminology, acronyms, and abbreviations such as “RWY” (Runway), “OBST” (Obstacle), “AMSL” (Above Mean Sea Level), and “BRG” (Bearing) is essential for decoding.
  2. Time Conversions:
    • NOTAM times are usually provided in UTC, so understanding and converting these times is crucial, especially if different time zones are mentioned (e.g., EST). In this case, times were left in UTC since no explicit conversion was requested.
  3. Understanding Airspace and Obstacle Infringements:
    • Recognizing terms like “Inner Horizontal Surface” and how obstacles infringe on it helps assess the impact on flight operations. These surfaces are established to ensure safe clearance around aerodromes.
  4. Review and Update References:
    • The second NOTAM referenced a review of another NOTAM (C355/24), indicating that the situation had been updated or re-evaluated.

Why This Detailed Decoding is Important for Pilots and Operators

  • Safety: Accurate decoding of NOTAMs ensures pilots are aware of potential hazards, such as closed runways or obstacles.
  • Operational Planning: Knowing about runway closures or obstacles allows for better pre-flight planning, route adjustments, and safety protocols.
  • Compliance: Following NOTAM instructions is mandatory for safe and legal flight operations, especially for controlled aerodromes.

This complete breakdown showcases the importance of understanding the detailed language, terminology, and timing information in NOTAMs for effective flight planning and safety.

There area a few different websites that can decode NOTAMs for you such as DRORPILOT, however it is suggested to get familiar with decoding NOTAMs without this aid as there may be situations where it will not be accessible. 

Below is a list of abbreviations that included in NOTAMs additionally a PDF version can be downloaded HERE

Notam Submission

If you’re a ReOC holder and you have received an instrument of approval that requires you to issue a NOTAM, you must fill out the Airservices NOTAM request form and either:

  • submit to Airservices Australia, if you’re a NOTAM authorized person
  • submit to us, if you’re not a NOTAM authorized person.

Follow the instructions in the NOTAM Data Quality Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Operators and the NOTAM Originator User Guide. NOTAM requests that contain errors will not be accepted.

You must lodge NOTAMs:

  • at least 48 hours before the commencement of the operation
  • during business hours (8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday – Canberra local time).

Notam FAQ 

What are NOTAM?

A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight.

How do I obtain NOTAM that are applicable to my operation?

NOTAM are controlled documents. Because they relate to matters of operational significance to air transport only authorized providers are allowed to provide NOTAM to you.

In Australia, Airservices Australia is responsible for the collation and dissemination of NOTAM. They do that through the National Aeronautical Information Processing System (NAIPS). NAIPS is a free online service that you can access using a web browser. Airservices Australia also license some electronic flight bag products including OZ Runways and AVPLAN to distribute NOTAM via their products.

How do access NAIPS?

Access the NAIPS is via the NAIPS Login.

You must register a username and password and provide your contact details before you can logon to the NAIPS service.

How do I register as a NAIPS user?

The NAIPS registration page.

For assistance in completing most data fields, hover the cursor or pointer over an item, without clicking it, and a tooltip may appear.

For help with NAIPS Pilot Briefing Service call the Airservices Service Desk (24 hrs a day, 7 days a week) on 1800 801 960.

What sort of briefings can NAIPS generate and what do the reports contain?

Australia is a big country and there are always lots of NOTAM active. To be able obtain a report from NAIPS that will contain all the NOTAM applicable to your operation you need to know a little about how NOTAM get grouped and the report selections that might stop you generating the right report.

NAIPS allows you to generate ‘Location’ and ‘Area’ briefings.

Location Briefings

Location briefings provide information relating to aerodromes and things that are happening in the immediate vicinity (5 NM) of the aerodrome.

Not all aerodromes are provided with a NOTAM service!

If you request a briefing for an aerodrome which doesn’t have a NOTAM service, you will get a message like this.

Notice the report says A NOTAM service is not provided for the following location, rather than there are no NOTAM for this location. A subtle but important difference!

The message shown above is different to the message that is shown for a location which has a NOTAM service with none currently active.

Area Briefings

If your operation is at a location that is more than 5NM from an aerodrome that has a NOTAM service then you need to get an Area Briefing rather than a location briefing.

For the purpose of generating briefings (and boundaries for other operational requirements) Australia has been divided into several briefing areas. The map above depicts the briefing areas and shows the line which divides the two Flight Information Regions (FIR) that cover the Australian continent. The FIR to the north and east of the RED dashed line is the Brisbane Flight Information Region and the area to the south and west of the line is the Melbourne Flight Information Region.

Air traffic in the Melbourne region is managed from Airservices Australia’s Melbourne based team and traffic in the Brisbane region is…… I’m sure you get the idea.

On the Area Briefing page of the NAIPS website you can click on the map to select a briefing for the required area.

How is information organized within an Area Briefing?

There is a structure to the area briefing and understanding it will make finding the information relevant to you much easier and faster. NOTAM briefings are structured as follows:

Let’s have a look at some excerpts from a real NOTAM briefing! This one is from aera 30 which covers much of Victoria.

In this first clip you can see the header information and then the NOTAM that were current for ARARAT aerodrome in Victoria.

There are two of them, the first advising that the ‘aerodrome is not available’ (AD NOT AVBL)  FROM 16th January (01 16) until 16th April (04 16) during night hours (HN).

The second NOTAM is about model aircraft operations that take place within (WI) 1000 meters of the Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP). There are some other details with you can decode for yourself.

At the end the ARARAT NOTAMs the briefing moves to the next aerodrome in the area that has one active. In this case BENDIGO.

Following the aerodrome NOTAM are the FIR NOTAM, these are the one that are not associated with an aerodrome that has a NOTAM service.

The first part of this section is the joint FIR NOTAMs. These are NOTAM that apply all over Australia. In this instance there are two. The first prohibits the operation of Boeing 737 Max aircraft anywhere in Australian airspace (ouch Boeing) and the second requires pilots of manned and unmanned aircraft to remain clear of fire-fighting operations.

Below the joint FIR NOTAM are those which apply in just part of Australia. These are grouped within either the Brisbane or Melbourne FIR. NOTAMS in this group could be related to navigation facilities, flight planning requirements, changes to maps and charts applicable to the region as well as all of the notifiable activities that are taking place away from aerodromes that have a NOTAM service.

In this briefing, in the Melbourne FIR (YMMM) section there is a NOTAM regarding aerobatic practice near Tocumwal aerodrome. Tocumwal is a small aerodrome which doesn’t have a NOTAM service so despite the operations being within 5NM of the aerodrome they get listed in the FIR NOTAM.

In the next excerpt which is from the Melbourne FIR (YMMM) section of the same report there is a NOTAM regarding RPAS activity which is occurring between 6.1 and 5.8 NM for Latrobe Valley aerodrome. Latrobe Valley has a NOTAM service but because the activity is occurring outside of 5NM of the aerodrome the activity gets bundled in with the FIR NOTAM rather than the aerodrome NOTAM.

The last 2 excerpts are from the final section of the NOTAM briefing includes list of aerodromes which have a NOTAM service and for which none are active and for designated airspace for which no NOTAMs are active. The last entry here is for Latrobe Valley which has NOTAMed RPAS activity 5.8 NM away but there are no NOTAM active for the airfield or within 5NM of it.