US air traffic control starts to phase out floppy disks
· BehindLines newsroom
In 2026, part of US air traffic control still runs on floppy disks. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Thursday 5 November that it would replace these tools with a single digital system called the Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS), according to Ars Technica and The Register.
Four 1980s systems to replace
The new system is meant to bring together on one platform the information controllers need: weather, alerts, airspace status. According to The Register, it replaces four legacy systems in use at more than 400 sites. Ars Technica names them, including IDS-4. The latter runs on MS-DOS and has been in use since the early 1990s, according to a 2018 press release from a vendor cited by the outlet.
The FAA says E-IDS will improve the distribution of pilot reports and Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs, which flag abnormal statuses and hazards. The Register recalls that in 2023 an accidental file deletion in the NOTAM system briefly halted domestic flight departures across the country.
A rollout through the end of 2028
According to both sources, the agency aims to have 435 sites equipped by the end of 2028. The first five are the airports of Atlantic City, Nashville and Rochester, along with the data processing hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. Ars Technica specifies that the design contract was awarded to Leidos in August 2020 and that the project is part of the NextGen modernization programme, whose work goes back to 2008. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy summed up the situation with the line: "Floppy disks are out, 21st century tech is in."
Both publications qualify the announcement. Ars Technica cites a September 2026 report by the oversight body GAO, which describes systems that are cumbersome to use and rely on obsolete technology. The Register considers it overstated to say that floppy disks are already gone: the FAA acknowledges it still needs funding for the wider modernization and is asking Congress to pass a bill, the Modern Skies Act, according to a spokesperson quoted by that outlet. The same outlet recalls that the GAO judged in 2024 that 51 of 138 air traffic control systems were hard to sustain for lack of parts and budget.
What this changes
For controllers, the aim is to stop searching for information across several media: Ars Technica cites an April 2026 Department of Transportation report promising a single view of the data. For travellers, no visible change is announced; the agency's stated goal is faster safety alerts.