The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing to retire a piece of technology that disappeared from most computers decades ago. Across the United States, some air traffic control facilities still rely on systems using floppy disks to handle essential operational information, including weather data. On Thursday, 5 November, the agency announced that its new Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS) would replace four legacy systems dating back to the 1980s. The rollout will cover 435 facilities nationwide, with completion scheduled for the end of 2028.
The replacement is hardly a spontaneous undertaking. The FAA awarded technology company Leidos a contract worth approximately $292 million to develop E-IDS back in August 2020, meaning the system has been in development for more than six years. Rather than requiring controllers to work with several independent information systems, E-IDS will consolidate operational data into a single digital interface, making weather advisories, equipment failures, airspace restrictions and other important updates more easily accessible.
The new platform is also intended to improve the distribution of Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) and Pilot Reports (PIREPs), which provide essential information about operating conditions and potential hazards. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford welcomed the transition, stating that the agency was moving away from outdated manual processes towards technology capable of sharing critical flight alerts and operational information across the National Airspace System.
The first five facilities receiving the upgrades include Atlantic City International Airport, Nashville International Airport and Greater Rochester International Airport, alongside data processing hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. These initial installations will form part of a much larger nationwide rollout, gradually replacing equipment that has remained in operation for several decades.
Floppy Disks Are Only Part of the Problem
The continued use of floppy disks is perhaps the most striking example of the challenges facing American air traffic control, but it is far from the only one. A 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment found that 51 of the FAA’s 138 air traffic control systems were unsustainable, with another 54 considered potentially unsustainable. Some of the most critical systems faced replacement timelines extending well into the 2030s.
Recent incidents have demonstrated how vulnerable parts of the existing infrastructure remain. On 13 October, a severed fibre-optic cable disrupted communications at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, resulting in a ground stop. Similar cable and circuit failures caused significant disruption across the northeastern United States in September. Although unrelated to the use of floppy disks, these incidents highlight the broader difficulties associated with maintaining an ageing and increasingly interconnected aviation network.
Congress approved $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernisation in 2025, while Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has requested another $30 billion to support further upgrades. The FAA is simultaneously replacing ageing communications equipment and introducing electronic flight strips, gradually eliminating another longstanding feature of American air traffic control: paper strips used to record and track aircraft movements.
According to Reuters, 27 of the 49 major airports included in that programme had eliminated paper flight strips by November 2026. Completing the transition across the remaining airports is expected to take until at least 2028, showing how the retirement of floppy disks forms just one part of a much wider effort to modernise the country’s aviation infrastructure.
