How PilotFlows Is Rethinking NOTAMs for Pilots

Less time decoding NOTAMs. More time understanding what matters.

If there's one thing almost every pilot can agree on, it's that NOTAMs are essential — but reading them isn't always the most enjoyable part of flight preparation.

We've all been there. You open the NOTAM briefing for an airport and find a long list of notices filled with abbreviations, coordinates, validity periods, and technical information. Somewhere in that list might be a runway closure, a fuel availability issue, or a restriction that could significantly affect your flight.

The challenge isn't simply finding NOTAMs. It's identifying the information that matters, understanding when it applies, and working out where it affects the operation.

As a pilot, I've experienced this first-hand. That's why we recently introduced NOTAM functionality in PilotFlows PRO+.

Our goal is simple: make NOTAMs easier to read, understand, filter, and monitor — without losing sight of the information pilots need to review.

Let's take a closer look.

First things first: What is a NOTAM?

NOTAM stands for Notice to Airmen, the traditional expansion of the abbreviation. In the United States, the FAA uses Notice to Air Missions.

NOTAMs communicate information about the establishment, condition, or change of aeronautical facilities, services, procedures, or hazards that are essential to personnel involved in flight operations.

In simple terms, a NOTAM tells pilots that something has changed or that a condition exists which they need to know about.

Examples include:

• Runway or taxiway closures
• Navigation aid outages
• Changes to airport operating procedures
• Temporary airspace restrictions
• Fuel availability issues
• Lighting or other aerodrome facility outages

Some notices are straightforward. Others require more interpretation, especially when they contain dense abbreviations, geographical coordinates, or complicated validity periods.

And not every notice will be equally relevant to every flight.

That is precisely where a better way of presenting NOTAMs can make a difference.

1. Reliable access to NOTAM information

PilotFlows PRO+ includes NOTAM lookup for airports, using data provided by the NOTAM Management Service (NMS).

Our integration retrieves updates and differences from the source, with the data updated at the source approximately every five minutes. PilotFlows fetches the available changes and stores the information on our servers to support the experience within the platform.

This gives pilots convenient access to airport NOTAM information without having to start from scratch every time they want to review an airport.

But retrieving NOTAMs is only the beginning.

The real challenge is making that information easier to work with.

2. A built-in NOTAM abbreviation guide

One of the first difficulties when reading NOTAMs is understanding the abbreviations.

A notice might be perfectly clear to someone familiar with the terminology but difficult to interpret when you're encountering an unfamiliar abbreviation.

Many tools simply display NOTAMs in their original format. Although the original text is essential, pilots can benefit from additional context when interpreting it.

That's why PilotFlows includes a built-in NOTAM abbreviation guide.

When you encounter an abbreviation you don't recognise, you can look it up directly in the guide instead of leaving the page to search elsewhere.

The guide follows FAA-standard terminology, helping pilots familiarise themselves with common aviation abbreviations.

It's a small feature, but one that can make the process of reading unfamiliar notices much more convenient.

3. Filter NOTAMs to focus on what matters

Imagine opening the NOTAM briefing for a busy airport and finding dozens of notices.

Some concern facilities you won't use. Others relate to areas far from your intended operation. Some are important only during a particular period.

Reading every notice in exactly the same way makes it harder to identify the ones that deserve closer attention.

PilotFlows provides filtering and categorisation tools to help organise NOTAMs into a more readable overview.

Instead of facing one long, undifferentiated list, you can use the available categories and filters to narrow down the information you're reviewing.

This makes it easier to work through the notices systematically and focus your attention where it's needed.

Filtering is a convenience, not a substitute for reviewing all NOTAMs relevant to your operation. A notice that initially appears unimportant may still have operational implications depending on the flight.

4. Understand when a NOTAM applies

One of the most time-consuming parts of reviewing NOTAMs is checking their validity periods.

A notice may be published well in advance, apply only during certain hours, or become effective later in the day. Another may expire before your flight even begins.

When preparing for a flight, you need to understand not just what a NOTAM says, but also when it applies.

PilotFlows makes validity information easier to identify through visual presentation and filtering features.

You can review the relevant time frames and distinguish notices that are currently active from those that may become active later.

Currently active NOTAMs are highlighted in green, making them easier to recognise at a glance.

However, a NOTAM that is not active right now may still be relevant to your flight later. Always check the complete validity period, including any schedules or conditions specified in the notice.

Our aim is to make this information more visible so that you can review it more efficiently.

5. The PilotFlows NOTAM Map

Personally, I find geographical information much easier to understand when I can see it on a map.

Many NOTAMs contain coordinates, geographical boundaries, or references to locations that aren't immediately obvious from the text alone.

You can read a set of coordinates, but it takes additional effort to understand exactly where they are and how they relate to the airport or surrounding airspace.

That's why we built the PilotFlows NOTAM Map.

The map allows you to visualise the geographical information associated with supported NOTAMs, helping you understand where an affected area or restriction is located.

Instead of interpreting coordinates in isolation, you can see their geographical context.

This is particularly useful for notices involving temporary airspace restrictions, defined areas, or other geographically specified information.

For me, this is one of the most valuable improvements we can make to the NOTAM-reading experience. A map can make complex geographical information much more intuitive.

As always, the map is a visual aid. The original NOTAM text, applicable conditions, and official aeronautical information remain essential.

6. Keep track of what you've already read

Another small but practical feature is the ability to collapse NOTAMs after reviewing them.

When you're working through a list, you can collapse a notice once you've read it. This makes it easier to distinguish notices you've already reviewed from those that still need your attention.

When new NOTAMs appear, the visual state of the list helps you focus on what you haven't reviewed yet.

You can also flag important notices.

Perhaps you've identified a runway closure, a significant operational restriction, or another item that deserves particular attention. Flagging allows you to highlight that notice so you can find it more easily during your review.

Together, these features help make a long list of notices feel more manageable.

Rather than repeatedly reading the same information from scratch, you can maintain a more organised review process.

7. Receive notifications for airports you care about

What if you want to keep up to date with changes at your homebase without manually checking its NOTAMs every day?

PilotFlows includes a NOTAM notification feature that lets you create alerts for airports you're interested in.

For example, I can set up alerts for my homebase so that I can be notified when new NOTAMs become available for that airport.

This is useful when you regularly fly from the same location and want a convenient way to stay informed about changes.

Instead of remembering to revisit the NOTAM page, you can configure an alert and let PilotFlows notify you of updates.

Notifications are a way to keep track of changes, not a complete operational briefing. You should still review the current official NOTAM information relevant to each flight.

8. My personal NOTAM workflow

So how do I actually use these features?

When I'm at home before heading to the airport, I like to get an initial picture of what's happening at the airports I'm interested in.

I open PilotFlows and review the relevant NOTAMs.

As I go through the list, I flag notices that I consider important and collapse those I've already reviewed. I use the available filters to organise the information and check the validity periods to understand when each notice applies.

If a notice contains geographical information, I open the map to get a better understanding of its location.

I also use airport alerts to keep track of new information at my homebase.

The result is a more structured way to review NOTAMs and a convenient overview of the information I've already looked at.

It saves me time during my initial review and makes it easier to identify notices that deserve a closer look.

Of course, when preparing for an actual flight, I still consult the official sources and complete the required operational briefing using the applicable procedures and approved tools.

PilotFlows helps me organise and understand information. It doesn't replace that responsibility.

Making NOTAMs work better for pilots

At PilotFlows, we believe aviation software should do more than display data. It should help pilots interact with information in a way that is intuitive, practical, and efficient.

That's the thinking behind our NOTAM features:

• Abbreviation guide to help interpret unfamiliar terminology.
• Filtering and categorisation to organise long lists of notices.
• Clear validity indicators to help identify current and future applicability.
• Interactive mapping to understand geographical information.
• Collapse and flag features to organise your review.
• Airport notifications to help you keep track of new notices.

Each feature addresses a small frustration that pilots encounter when reviewing NOTAMs. Together, they create a more organised and accessible experience.

And this is only part of our broader ambition for PilotFlows PRO+.

We're continuously improving the platform, exploring new ideas, and listening to feedback from pilots who use it every day.

Try PilotFlows PRO+

NOTAMs aren't going away. They are an essential part of aviation, and pilots need to understand the information they contain.

But the experience of reviewing them can be better.

With PilotFlows PRO+, we're working to make NOTAMs easier to navigate, easier to visualise, and easier to keep track of.

If you've ever spent too much time working through a long list of notices, we invite you to give it a try.

Less time fighting the format. More time understanding the information.

Discover PilotFlows PRO+ at pilotflows.com.