Sens. Moran, Klobuchar, Capito Introduce Legislation to Help Prevent FAA System Outages

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - co-chair of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus and member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation with jurisdiction over the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - along with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) introduced legislation this week to study and help prevent FAA system outages.

On January 11, 2023, the FAA's Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system failed, grounding flights nationwide. The senator's legislation, the NOTAM Improvement Act, would require the FAA to establish a task force to strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of safety and location hazards on flight routes. U.S. Representative Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this month.

"The FAA has a responsibility to make certain air travel in the U.S. is as safe and efficient as possible," said Sen. Moran. "The complete failure of the NOTAM system stranded millions of Americans and was a warning of the need to strengthen and modernize our air travel system. This legislation will help meet the demands of 21st century travel and help prevent a similar failure in the future."

"Travelers in the United States deserve safe and dependable air travel service, not nationwide ground stops caused by system failures," said Sen. Klobuchar. "By upgrading and modernizing the FAA's NOTAM system, our bipartisan legislation would improve aviation safety and prevent system outages from derailing travel. As co-chair of the bipartisan Travel and Tourism Caucus, I look forward to working with Representative Stauber and my colleagues in the Senate to advance this bill and strengthen our air travel infrastructure."

"After the Notice to Air Missions system failure grounded air traffic in the United States on January 11th, it is imperative that a group of aviation experts be assembled to look at ways to improve this vital safety system," said Sen. Capito. "That's exactly what our legislation would do, and I am proud to help lead this effort that will help strengthen the NOTAM system for pilots and essential personnel. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill passed quickly and sent to the president's desk."

The task force would be comprised of representatives from air carriers, airports, airline pilots, aircraft dispatchers, air traffic control specialists and FAA personnel unions, general and business aviation representatives, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts.

Earlier this month, Sens. Moran and Klobuchar spoke with FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen following the NOTAM system failure to discuss his agency's efforts to identify the factors behind the system outage and prevent similar breakdowns from happening again.

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