The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has made changes to its charts and terminology, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This move aligns with an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump aimed at “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced these changes on February 11, as part of his efforts to align the Department of Transportation’s policies with Trump’s agenda.
Duffy stated that the FAA would revert from using Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), a gender-neutral term adopted during Joe Biden’s presidency, back to Notice to Airmen. He did not elaborate on how this change would impact safety or efficiency within the National Airspace System (NAS), which has faced challenges, including issues with the NOTAM system itself.
The NOTAM system experienced two outages over 12 months, most recently on February 1. The FAA reported that while there were temporary issues with the primary NOTAM system, operations continued without impact due to a backup system. A preliminary review indicated that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files during maintenance work.
On February 15, 2023, Billy Nolen, then acting Administrator of the FAA, acknowledged that one of the NOTAM systems relies on outdated software and architecture. He expressed expectations for significant modernization progress by mid-2025.
In addition to renaming geographical sites like Mount McKinley and the Gulf of America in pilot charts, Duffy emphasized alignment with Trump’s vision to rescind “woke” policies and regulations perceived as burdensome. During an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Duffy criticized diversity and inclusion initiatives within DOT under Biden’s administration.
Recently, an American Airlines flight collided mid-air with a US Army helicopter in Washington DC resulting in fatalities. Former President Trump attributed this incident partly to diversity policies within FAA hiring practices during a press conference.
Kelly Buckland, former Disability Policy Adviser at DOT, countered claims regarding hiring unqualified individuals by emphasizing that only qualified people with disabilities are employed by FAA.
Trump further called for an “Immediate Assessment Of Aviation Safety” following this accident as new leadership steps into roles within FAA amid ongoing investigations into recent incidents and policy directions under current administration directives.
