Notamify's Timeline: Visualizing NOTAMs in Time

The numbers are staggering: pilots often face hundreds of NOTAMs for a single flight. A recent study found that a typical international flight briefing package can contain over 200 NOTAMs, with many being irrelevant to the actual flight time. This information overload isn't just annoying – it's a safety concern. When critical information is buried under irrelevant NOTAMs, important details can be missed.

The NOTAM Overflow Problem

Let's look at a real example: A flight from Frankfurt (EDDF) to New York (KJFK). A standard briefing might show:

34+ NOTAMs for departure airport
129+ NOTAMs for arrival airport
100+ NOTAMs for alternate airports
Hundreds of FIR NOTAMs

But here's the catch: if you're departing at 1400Z, do you really need to know about runway closures that only happen between 2200-0400? Traditional NOTAM systems show you everything, forcing you to mentally filter out irrelevant information. This is where our new time-smart features come in.

Introducing Time-Smart NOTAM Management

We've developed two key features to tackle this overflow:

1. Advanced Time Filtering

Instead of showing all NOTAMs within a date range, you can now specify exact time windows. For example:

Flight Time: 1400-2200Z
Previous: 450+ NOTAMs
With Time Filtering: 180 relevant NOTAMs

The system automatically filters out NOTAMs that are:

Only active during night hours when you're flying during the day
Not yet active during your flight time
Already expired by your flight time
Only active on specific days that don't match your flight

2. Visual Timeline for Quick Understanding

Take this NOTAM from Frankfurt:

RWY 07R/25L CLSD
DAILY 2200-0400

Instead of parsing text, you immediately see if this affects your flight. The timeline shows:

Exact active periods
Zoom controls for detailed inspection

For more complex patterns, check out this NOTAM with multiple time ranges:

OCT 25 26 0400-1800, OCT 27-DEC 18 0500-1900

The timeline breaks down complex schedules into clear, visual segments. You can see both examples live on our platform by clicking the links above.

Real Impact on NOTAM Management

Here's how these features transform your briefing process:

Before:

Receive 400+ NOTAMs
Manually scan each NOTAM's timing
Try to determine which ones are active during your flight
Risk missing critical information buried in the noise

After:

Set your exact flight time window
Automatically filter to relevant NOTAMs only
Quickly visualize active periods with the timeline
Focus on what actually matters for your flight

The Numbers Don't Lie

In our testing with professional pilots:

60% reduction in total NOTAMs to review
83% less time spent on NOTAM briefing
92% reported better understanding of time-based restrictions
95% felt more confident about not missing critical information

Beyond Simple Filtering

Our system understands various timing patterns:

Daily recurring windows (like the runway closure example above)
Date-specific ranges
Permanent changes
Sunrise/sunset dependent operations
Complex schedules with multiple periods

For example, this complex schedule:

OCT 25 26 0400-1800, OCT 27-DEC 18 0500-1900

Is automatically parsed and filtered based on your flight time, with clear visual representation in the timeline.

Why This Matters for Safety

The FAA's recent focus on NOTAM reform highlights a critical issue: information overload leads to missed critical information. By showing only NOTAMs relevant to your actual flight time, we're not just saving time – we're enhancing safety by ensuring important notices don't get lost in the noise.

Try It Yourself

Ready to experience clearer, more focused NOTAM briefings?

Visit any NOTAM detail page to see its timeline
Use the Edit Query dialog to set specific time filters
Watch your NOTAM count drop to only what matters for your flight

Start your free trial →

Contact our team for a free demo to see how Notamify can help you manage NOTAMs in time. Contact us here