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The Pilots Desk

NOTAM Decoder

NOTAMs are written in a dense shorthand that trips up even experienced pilots. Paste a raw NOTAM below — US domestic (!ORD …) or ICAO field format (Q) A) B) …) — to get the location, effective window, the Q-code meaning and every contraction expanded. It runs entirely in your browser.

How to read a NOTAM

ICAO format uses lettered fields: Q) a coded summary, A) the aerodrome/FIR, B) start and C) end times (YYMMDDHHmm, UTC), D) a schedule, and E) the plain (but abbreviated) text.

US domestic NOTAMs look like !ORD 06/123 ORD RWY 10L/28R CLSD WEF … — an accountability code, number, affected facility, then the condition and a WEF (with effect from) time window.

The Q-code (e.g. QMRLC) encodes a subject (letters 2–3) and a condition (letters 4–5) — here, runway marking + closed.

This decoder is a reference aid, not an official briefing. Always get a current, official NOTAM briefing (in the US, 1800wxbrief.com or the FAA) before every flight. Not for navigation or flight planning — always verify against official current sources.