AIM Text
- SAFOs contain important safety information that is often time-critical. A SAFO may contain information and/or recommended (non-regulatory) action to be taken by the respective operators or parties identified in the SAFO. The audience for SAFOs varies with each subject and may include: Air carrier certificate holders, air operator certificate holders, general aviation operators, directors of safety, directors of operations, directors of maintenance, fractional ownership program managers, training center managers, accountable managers at repair stations, and other parties as applicable.
- InFOs are similar to SAFOs, but contain valuable information for operators that should help them meet administrative requirements or certain regulatory requirements with relatively low urgency or impact in safety.
- The SAFO and InFO system provides a means to rapidly distribute this information to operators and can be found at the following website:
http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo and
http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info or search keyword FAA SAFO or FAA INFO. Free electronic subscription is available on the “ALL SAFOs” or “ALL InFOs” page of the website.
Source: FAA Aeronautical Information Manual · current edition · paragraph 7-7-5.
The short answer
This AIM section is FAA advisory guidance describing Safety Alerts For Operators (SAFO) and Information For Operators (InFO). SAFOs convey time-critical, non-regulatory safety information and recommended action; InFOs help operators meet administrative or certain regulatory requirements with relatively low urgency. Both are distributed rapidly to operators through dedicated FAA websites.
Research Notes
Common Questions
Are SAFOs and InFOs regulatory requirements?
Who is the intended audience for a SAFO?
Per the AIM, the audience varies by subject and may include air carrier and air operator certificate holders, general aviation operators, directors of safety, operations, and maintenance, fractional ownership program managers, training center managers, and accountable managers at repair stations.
How do you find or subscribe to SAFOs and InFOs?
The AIM notes the SAFO and InFO system rapidly distributes this information on the FAA website, searchable with keyword FAA SAFO or FAA INFO. Free electronic subscription is available on the ALL SAFOs or ALL InFOs page of the website.