Systems and methods for identifying a fault location in an optical network are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for identifying a fault location in an optical network comprises monitoring, by a network element, an eastward optical path and a westward optical path for faults. The method further comprises transmitting, by the network element, a first data packet along the eastward path and a second data packet along the westward path. The first and second data packets comprise an eastward fault indicator and a westward fault indicator comprising information associated with any eastward or westward faults occurring on the eastward or westward paths. The fault indicators indicate the existence of an eastward or westward fault and the network element that detected the fault.