NOTAM system
Types of NOTAM
Not every NOTAM does the same job. A notice telling you a taxiway is closed and a notice amending an instrument approach procedure are different types, issued by different parts of the system, and they behave differently in a briefing. This page explains the main types of NOTAM — NOTAM (D), FDC, pointer, SAA, military and international — and which of them carry the runway and taxiway closures that TaxiwayClosed AI marks on the airport map.
Awareness and training aid only. Always verify with official NOTAM briefings, current charts, approved EFBs, ATC, dispatch, and company procedures before any real operation.
The main types of NOTAM
United States NOTAMs are grouped by who issues them and what they cover. These are the categories a pilot meets in a normal briefing:
| Type | Name | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| NOTAM (D) | Distant | Airport and facility information distributed beyond the local area: closed runways and taxiways, lighting, obstacles, navigation aids, apron works. This is where most surface closures live. |
| FDC NOTAM | Flight Data Center | Regulatory notices issued by the FAA's Flight Data Center: temporary flight restrictions, amendments to instrument approach procedures, and changes to charted data. |
| Pointer NOTAM | Pointer | A short notice that points to another NOTAM, used to draw attention to a notice a pilot might otherwise not associate with their airport or route. |
| SAA NOTAM | Special Activity Airspace | Issued when special activity airspace is active outside its published schedule. |
| Military NOTAM | Military | Notices affecting military airfields, navigation aids and special-use airspace. |
| International NOTAM | ICAO format | Notices written to the ICAO standard series format for cross-border operations. |
You may still see references to Local (L) NOTAMs in older material. That separate category was folded into NOTAM (D) as part of the modernisation of the US NOTAM system, so a current briefing will not present them separately.
What is an FDC NOTAM?
An FDC NOTAM is issued by the FAA's Flight Data Center and is regulatory in nature. That is the distinction that matters: where a NOTAM (D) usually describes a physical condition at an airport, an FDC NOTAM changes something in the published, charted or procedural record.
Typical FDC content includes:
- Temporary flight restrictions — airspace closed or restricted for a period, for example around a major event or a disaster area.
- Amendments to instrument approach procedures — a changed minimum, a missing component, a revised missed approach.
- Changes to charted data that cannot wait for the next chart cycle.
FDC NOTAMs tend to be longer and written in fuller sentences than the compressed surface notices, because they carry procedural detail that cannot be reduced to contractions. They are also the type most likely to affect a flight without affecting the airport surface at all.
Which type carries runway and taxiway closures?
Surface closures — a closed taxiway, a runway out of service, apron works, unserviceable lighting — are normally NOTAM (D) notices. This is the category TaxiwayClosed AI is built around.
They are also the category that produces volume. A large airport under construction can generate dozens of surface notices, most of which do not affect your particular routing, and the difficulty is not decoding any single one but not missing the one that matters inside the package. That is the specific problem the app addresses: it reads the whole package and marks each closed taxiway and runway with a cross on the diagram, so the closures are a picture before they are a reading exercise.
FDC NOTAMs, by contrast, are not surface conditions and are not marked on the map. They still need reading — the app does not replace a briefing, and our data sources and limitations page is explicit about what is and is not covered.
A NOTAM (D) and an FDC NOTAM side by side
A surface closure at Atlanta (KATL), as a NOTAM (D):
!ATL 08/031 ATL TWY D BTN TWY B AND TWY F CLSD 2608050600-2608071800
Short, coded, physical: Taxiway D is closed between B and F for two days. This is the kind of notice that becomes a cross on the map.
An FDC NOTAM affecting a procedure at the same field would instead read in fuller prose, naming the instrument approach procedure, the amendment number and the changed item — a raised minimum, an out-of-service component, or a revised missed approach. It changes what you may do, not what the pavement looks like, so there is nothing to draw on an airport diagram.
Both arrive in the same package. Both need reading. Only one of them is a shape on the ground.
How to work through the types in a briefing
A practical order of attack when a package is long:
- Start with the surface notices for departure, destination and alternate — the runways and taxiways you actually expect to use.
- Check the effective times against your planned departure and arrival, not just the dates. Daily windows are easy to misread.
- Read the FDC notices for the approaches you might fly, including at the alternate.
- Look for pointer NOTAMs, which exist precisely to catch notices you would not otherwise connect to your flight.
- Confirm anything ambiguous with dispatch, ATC or your CFI rather than assuming the least inconvenient reading.
For the format of an individual notice see what is a NOTAM, for the shorthand see NOTAM abbreviations, and for a step-by-step tutorial see how to read NOTAMs.
Frequently asked questions about NOTAM types
What are the main types of NOTAM?
The main United States types are NOTAM (D) for airport and facility conditions, FDC NOTAMs for regulatory and procedural changes, pointer NOTAMs that draw attention to another notice, and SAA NOTAMs for special activity airspace. Military and international ICAO-format NOTAMs are also in use.
What is an FDC NOTAM?
An FDC NOTAM is issued by the FAA's Flight Data Center and is regulatory. It covers temporary flight restrictions, amendments to instrument approach procedures, and changes to charted data that cannot wait for the next chart cycle.
What does NOTAM (D) stand for?
The D stands for Distant. NOTAM (D) notices carry airport and facility information distributed beyond the local area, including closed runways and taxiways, lighting, obstacles and navigation aids.
What is the difference between a NOTAM (D) and an FDC NOTAM?
A NOTAM (D) generally describes a physical condition at an airport, such as a closed taxiway. An FDC NOTAM changes something in the published or charted record, such as an instrument approach procedure or a temporary flight restriction, and is regulatory in nature.
What is a pointer NOTAM?
A pointer NOTAM is a short notice that points to another NOTAM. It is used to draw a pilot's attention to a notice they might not otherwise associate with their airport or route.
Are Local (L) NOTAMs still used?
Local NOTAMs were folded into NOTAM (D) as part of the modernisation of the United States NOTAM system, so a current briefing will not present them as a separate category. You may still see the term in older training material.
Always verify with official sources
TaxiwayClosed AI is an awareness and training aid — it is not an official briefing and is never a substitute for one. Before any real flight, pull the current package from official sources such as FAA NOTAM Search, review the procedures in the FAA JO 7930.2 NOTAM order and in SKYbrary, use your approved EFB briefing, and confirm anything unclear with ATC, dispatch, or your CFI.
Find the closures inside the package
Download TaxiwayClosed AI, load a real NOTAM package, and let the AI pull the surface closures out and mark each one with a cross on the airport diagram.
Awareness and training aid only. Always verify with official NOTAM briefings, current charts, approved EFBs, ATC, dispatch, and company procedures before any real operation.