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Free tool

NOTAM reader

Paste a raw NOTAM below and get a plain-English breakdown of the Q-line, the A)-G) item fields, and common aviation contractions.

You can paste more than one — separate them with a blank line.
Try an example:

What is a NOTAM?

A NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions, formerly Notice to Airmen) is a time-critical alert issued by an aviation authority — the FAA in the US, or an equivalent body elsewhere — about something that could affect flight safety at a specific location: a runway closure, a temporary flight restriction over a stadium or wildfire, a broken navigation aid, an active military exercise, or a new obstacle like a crane. They're written in a dense, ICAO-standardized shorthand (five-letter Q-codes, heavy use of contractions like RWY, CLSD, WIP) designed for fast transmission between aviation systems, not for readability — which is exactly the gap this tool closes.

Why drone pilots need to check them

A clear weather forecast says nothing about whether the airspace itself is open — a temporary flight restriction (TFR) over a wildfire, VIP movement, or major event can ground every aircraft in the area regardless of how calm the wind is. Checking NOTAMs for your planned location and time is a standard part of pre-flight planning under FAA Part 107.49 and equivalent rules elsewhere, alongside (not instead of) the weather check UAV Meteo's other tools provide.

No — there's no free, keyless public API for retrieving live NOTAMs, so this is a decoder for text you already have, not a live feed. Retrieve the actual NOTAM from an official source (FAA NOTAM Search, DINS, or your flight-planning app) first, then paste it here to decode.

Each letter maps to a specific subject and status from a standardized ICAO table — the first two letters after Q identify the subject (e.g. airspace, runway, navaid), and the last two identify the status (e.g. closed, unserviceable, in-work). This tool decodes the full Q-line for you rather than requiring you to memorize the table.

This decoder is provided for convenience and education. Always obtain an official pre-flight briefing through an authorized source before flying — see our legal & disclaimer page.