435 Sites to Get Digital Overhaul as FAA Finally Ditching Floppy Disks for Traffic Control, Jalopnik Reports

A decades-old system replaced

The FAA said Thursday it would phase out floppy disks used at air traffic control facilities. The agency’s target is to complete the change by the end of 2028.

Its replacement, the Enterprise Information Display System, is intended to take over four legacy systems dating to the 1980s. The rollout is planned across 435 locations, with installations already completed at Atlantic City, Nashville and Greater Rochester international airports, as well as processing hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City.

Some current equipment includes Compaq computers running Windows 95. Reuters reported that the FAA has turned to eBay to find replacement parts; Sony, the last major floppy-disk maker, ended production in 2011.

Controllers gain shared information

The new system is designed to help controllers access and share flight-related information digitally. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said it would support timely decisions and public safety.

Outages raise urgency

Recent damage to fiber-optic links has disrupted air traffic operations. In September, a major circuit failure at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control facility was followed by a failure in its backup system.

A separate incident in October affected Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Flights there faced a ground stop lasting 90 minutes.

Modernization costs expand

President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” allocated $12.5 billion to the modernization project last year. In September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked Congress for a further $30 billion.

The additional request would cover facility upgrades and the development of artificial intelligence tools for air traffic control. The article raises concern that the expansion could move beyond the original modernization goals.