ATC Advisories - Help
How to use the ATC Advisories page and Compact View.
Data source & refresh rate
Advisory data is sourced from the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) and proxied through this server to avoid CORS issues. The page refreshes automatically every 3 minutes. The refresh countdown is visible in the status bar; click the refresh button at any time to fetch immediately.
Advisory categories
Each advisory is assigned to one of seven categories. Category color coding is consistent across the counter row, advisory number badges, left border stripe, and category badges in the list:
| Badge | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AFP | Airspace Flow Programs | Metering programs for high-density airspace |
| CTOP | Trajectory Programs | Collaborative trajectory options programs |
| GS | Ground Stops | Stops departures to a specific airport |
| GDP | Ground Delay Programs | Delays departures to manage arrival demand |
| Route | Route Advisories | Preferred or required routing changes |
| CDN | Canadian Advisories | NAVCAN traffic management initiatives |
| Other | Other Advisories | Miscellaneous ATCSCC advisories |
Canadian advisories also display a maple leaf icon in the row.
Category counters
A row of colored boxes above the advisory list shows the count of active advisories in each category. When a category is hidden by the filter, its counter box dims to indicate the advisories exist but are not shown.
The dimmed "Other Advisories" counter above indicates that category is currently filtered out.
Advisory list
Advisories are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Each row contains the following elements from left to right:
- Mark as read
- Green checkmark button that appears only on unread advisories. Click it to mark that advisory as read without opening the detail panel. Disappears once read.
- Advisory number badge (e.g. 3/22)
- The advisory sequence number for the day. Color matches the category. Glows amber when the advisory is unread. Click the number badge to open the full advisory on the FAA ATCSCC website in a popup window.
- Element code (e.g. ZNY)
- The ARTCC facility or element identifier the advisory applies to, shown in light blue.
- Title
- The advisory title text. Bold amber when unread; reverts to normal weight and color once read. Long titles are truncated with an ellipsis — click the row to see the full text in the detail panel below.
- Canadian badge
- Appears only on Canadian advisories (NAVCAN). Indicates a cross-border traffic management initiative.
- Map Route map button
- Appears on AFP advisories that include an FCA route map image. Click to open the map in a full-screen overlay. The button is hidden until the map is confirmed to exist.
- Category badge (e.g. GS)
- Fixed-width label indicating the advisory type. All badges are the same width so the column stays aligned.
- Issue time (e.g. 1543Z)
- The UTC time the advisory was issued, at the far right of each row.
Click anywhere on a row (other than the number badge or map button) to expand the full advisory text inline below the row.
Unread tracking & mark as read
Advisories that have not been read since the page was last loaded are highlighted to draw attention:
- The advisory number badge glows amber.
- The title text is displayed in bold amber.
- A green checkmark button appears at the left of the row.
You can mark advisories as read in three ways:
- Click the row — expanding the detail panel automatically marks the advisory as read.
- Click the checkmark button on the row — marks that one advisory as read without opening the detail panel.
- Click Mark All Read in the status bar — clears all unread advisories at once. This button is hidden when all advisories are already read, and is not shown when browsing historical dates.
Expanding advisory detail
Clicking a row expands an inline detail panel below it. The panel shows:
- Effective time — when the advisory takes effect (if provided by the FAA), shown in muted monospace above the message body.
- Full advisory text — the complete message from ATCSCC, displayed in a scrollable monospace block.
Only one advisory can be open at a time. Clicking a different row closes the current detail panel and opens the new one. Clicking the same row again collapses it.
Opening the detail panel automatically marks the advisory as read.
Route map viewer
AFP (Airspace Flow Program) advisories may include an FCA route map image published by the FAA. When a map is available, a Map button appears in the advisory row.
Clicking Map opens the image in a full-screen overlay with a dimmed backdrop and the advisory title in the header. Close the overlay by:
- Clicking the close button in the overlay header.
- Clicking anywhere on the dimmed backdrop.
- Pressing Escape.
Maps are prefetched in the background as advisories load, so the button appears as soon as a map is confirmed to exist.
Category filter
Click Filter in the status bar to show or hide the filter bar. The filter bar displays a pill toggle for each advisory category. Click a pill to toggle that category on or off.
When any category is hidden, an amber dot appears next to the Filter button as a reminder that the list is filtered. The counter boxes for hidden categories dim to indicate advisories exist but are not displayed.
Historical date picker
The date input in the status bar defaults to today's UTC date. Select any past date to browse the advisories that were published on that day.
When a past date is selected:
- Auto-refresh is suspended and the countdown disappears.
- The status bar shows the selected date instead of an "Updated HHMMZ" timestamp.
- The Mark All Read button is hidden — unread tracking only applies to today's live advisories.
Select today's date (or clear the field) to return to live mode and resume auto-refresh.
Compact View
The Compact View is a dark-themed, condensed window designed to sit alongside other applications on your desktop. Open it from the status bar by clicking Compact.
It opens as a separate popup window so you can keep it visible while working in other tools. The window can be resized and repositioned freely.
- Live dot
- Pulses green to confirm the feed is active.
- Mark All Read
- Appears when any unread advisories are present. Clears all amber unread indicators at once. Hidden when browsing historical dates.
- Date picker
- Same historical browsing as the main page. Selecting a past date suspends auto-refresh.
- Refresh button & countdown
- Shows the time until the next automatic fetch. Click to refresh immediately.
- Settings
- Opens a popup with a Text Size control (A− / A+, five scale levels, saved in your browser) and a Categories section of pill toggles for showing or hiding advisory categories. The category filter shares the same state as the main page.
- Notifications
- A bell button requests permission to send an OS-level notification when new advisories are issued on a background refresh (today/live mode only). Notifications are grouped by category in the body (e.g. Ground Stops: ORD) and auto-close after 30 seconds. Once permission is granted the bell disappears; if it was blocked, a struck-through red bell is shown instead. A first-visit prompt explains the feature, and choosing "Not Now" is remembered for the session.
- Help button
- Opens this ATC Advisories help page in a new window.
- Advisory number badge
- Glows amber when unread. Click to open the advisory on the FAA website in a popup.
- Dismiss button
- Appears on the right of a row when the advisory is unread. Click to mark it as read without expanding the detail text.
- FAA Data Health footer
- Fixed bar at the bottom. Shows the Advisories status dot (green = OK, amber = fetching, red = error), advisory count, and the timestamp of the last successful fetch.
Read state is shared between the main page and the Compact View via localStorage. Marking an advisory as read in one view is immediately reflected in the other.