NOTAMs Back To 'Notice to Airmen'

A NOTAM is back to being a Notice to Airmen after the Trump administration issued an order today to reverse a Biden-era gender-neutrality move. In December of 2021, the FAA changed the term to Notice to Air Missions as part of what it termed a modernization of the NOTAM system and specifically making the flight hazard and airspace notifications "inclusive of all aviators and missions."


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/notams-back-to-notice-to-airmen

I think we, once again, missed a great opportunity. These should be renamed “Notices of Pilot Exclusion” or “NoPEs”.

Can I land on that runway? “NoPE!”
Can I fly near the President? “NoPE!”
Does this impact safety? “NoPE!”

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Paleeze tell me we occupy ‘cockpits’ again, too ??

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Kudos, a good and reasonable return to sensibilities.

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Notice to Airmen is fine with me. But the following is absolutely not:

"The FAA is not commenting on the change, instead referring inquiries to the notice itself, which does not include any rationale.’

Why not? It’s imperative we always question everything and demand answers from our government - Unfortunately, political tribalism with short-term emotionally satisfying victories has distracted many to forgo the importance of government accountability. Hopfully, we can regain that very important action, but I’m not holding my breath.

My light-sport aircraft’s plans use the term cabin for where the people sit, so do I and nearly everyone I know whether a Mooney or RV. It’s not a competition - but it’s also not a culture war battle. Unless of course one wishes to make it one.

I’m stuck here thinking about the FAA’s decision to ditch “Notice to Air Missions” and go back to “Notice to Airmen.” On paper, it’s just a name change, but beneath the surface, it’s a political gut punch. This isn’t about aviation terminology, it’s a reminder that the fight over inclusivity, gender, and progress is alive and well, and right now, tradition is throwing punches.

For pilots, this debate has little to do with acronyms and everything to do with perception. The original change was a signal that Aviation is evolving, and everyone, regardless of gender or identity, has a place in the cockpit. Reversing it says something louder. To many, it’s a nod to the old boys’ club, a quiet way of saying, “Don’t get too comfortable.”

Functionally, I’m fine with it. The NOTAM system won’t miss a beat. But symbols matter, and this one sends a clear message. To some, it’s a win against what they see as bureaucratic nonsense. To others, it’s a reminder that progress in aviation, or anywhere, is never guaranteed.

The turbulence isn’t over. Those who feel shut out will make noise. But for now, all they can do is bitch about it, because in this round, tradition got the upper hand. The only comfort? Winds shift, and the next round is never far off.

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More interested in the same amount of effort being put into making NOTAM system actually useful.

Current output is like reading the 10 pages of a website small print user agreement. Also doesn’t help that multiple ATC entities will post their own NOTAM of the same event…how about one NOTAM that instead has a listing of impacted entities.

Confidence in system is not helped by the FAA TFR webpage randomly deciding which DC associated airspaces should listed there…sometimes FRZ, SFRA are depicted, sometimes not at all, other times SFRA or FRZ.

…and my EFB app doesn’t help with the ridiculous number of NOTAMs ref’d in a 50 nm VFR flt outside DC airspaces filling 5-10 pages of briefing, 90% of which are dupes.

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How is this a “return to sensibilities”? It seems like the opposite and when this change was made under Biden the complaint was about “government meddling in day to day matters” how is this not the same?

Finally, what about the cost in the changes? Couldn’t that money go towards making air safety better? Something the USA desperately needs given the recent crashes.

It was a typical communist m.o. to change it in the first place, equal to the whole latinx bs.
Revise history, destroy norms of culture, foment discord, then march in and implement a Marxist regime.
Want to change a language or a culture? Let it happen organically, from the bottom up.

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Let it happen organically, from the bottom up.

Like with the workers at Amazon wanting to create a union? They got stamped on.

It was a typical communist m.o. to change it in the first place

How is it communist? How does a change from airmen to air missions fit in with a communist ideology?

How is this a “return to sensibilities”? It seems like the opposite and when this change was made under the previous admin and the complaint was about “government meddling in day to day matters” how is this not the same?

Finally, what about the cost in the changes? Couldn’t that money go towards making air safety better? Something the USA desperately needs given the recent incidents.

Does this mean women don’t have to pay attention to them now.

Yep, just like Gulf of America.

Hello RAF-

Perhaps we should consider the progress already made in opening our doors to the “Ole Boys Club”? I’m not convinced that history is lauding Amelia Earhart as a pioneer or pacesetter for women in aviation. Instead, I think well meaning people - men and women - have slowly demonstrated the untenablity of gender bias, beginning with the involvement of women pilots delivering combat aircraft to the theater in WWII all the way up to women astronauts today.

Maybe we should glance back at the progress we have made and take pride. And in taking pride in what we have done, we can resolve that it is a good thing and should continue.
John Caulkins

Communist? Marxist? Good grief, hyperbole much?

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What always confused me about the NOTAM name change is how the AIM, Airmans Info Manual, escaped the 2021 WOK hatchet.

My mother, a woman, was an airman. She learned to fly during WWII by using her auto gasoline ration stamps to by gas for a T-Craft. My mother built the first civilian airport, and FBO, in Alpena, MI. The airport was dedicated just weeks after the Japanese surrendered aboard the Missouri. She was one of the founders of the Michigan 99’s. My brother and I grew up surrounded by women pilots. All of them wonderful pilots. My first log-book entry is from a female CFI when I was 14. Women pilots make up 7% of the pilot population yet only cause 2% of the accidents. Let that stat sink in. The women pilots I knew were proud to be called Airman, Airmen.

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Raf, the term "mankind " was always inclusive.
The term “airmen” in our language was similarly inclusive.

Changing traditional language (like from semester to ovester) is not progress, it’s more the stuff of sillyness and a general lack of understanding of the history of language.

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If it is a culture war, it’s hard, from your comment, to tell where you stand on it. My take is this. It became a culture war when they rename it to “mission”. There was no need, otherwise. On a larger plane, the differentiation between cabin and cockpit is obvious. “Flight attendants,(or Stews) please secure the cabin for landing” doesn’t result in the help running around making sure the pilot’s tray is up. On your tiny light sport, the two merge into the “place where people go sit”.

“mankind” has only been inclusive in the sense that humans have typically been male-dominated, and the male-dominated societies say “mankind” is “inclusive”. But from a logical point of view, shouldn’t “womankind” be the “inclusive” form, since it literally includes “mankind” in it?

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