Better late than never The year is 2027 and the US Federal Aviation Administration has just announced that it will replace the floppy disks still used by many US air traffic control systems. The upgrade won’t be complete until the end of 2028, almost 20 years after most floppy disk production ended.
At more than 400 locations, the FAA still uses floppy disks in four systems to upload data to outdated information displays where air traffic controllers retrieve information about weather conditions, airport status and notices to airmen (NOTAMs).
One of these is the Information Display System 4, or IDS-4, which was introduced in the early 1990s and runs on a Microsoft platform that is no longer supported. These systems provide operational information that controllers need to manage traffic.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 5, 2026
Many air traffic control facilities in the United States still rely on outdated systems tied to infrastructure built in the 1990s. These systems have undergone extensive security testing and must be operational 24/7. Replacing this technology is a difficult and expensive undertaking and requires new systems that meet strict safety standards and can be rolled out without disrupting operations.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy published a message on X yesterday in which he confirmed the modernization of the facilities. “1980s floppy disks: OUT, 21st century technology: IN,” he wrote.
The new Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS) will replace the four systems from the 1980s. It consolidates operational information on a common platform, including weather impacts, equipment malfunctions, flight warnings, restricted airspace flight plans and pilot weather reports. The FAA says this will improve information distribution and reduce repairs and workarounds associated with older equipment.
The FAA plans to install E-IDS at 435 facilities by the end of 2028. Five locations have already replaced their disk-based systems: Atlantic City International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, and data processing centers in Atlanta and Salt Lake City.
In 2023, an FAA assessment found that over a third of the country’s air traffic control systems were unsustainable and some were beginning to fail.
Last year it was reported that several FAA sites were still running Windows 95. The FAA also uses decades-old Compaq computers that are so outdated that replacement parts have to be purchased on eBay. Another outdated technology still in use are paper flight strips, the pieces of cardboard on which important details of an individual flight – such as call signs, aircraft type and altitude – are printed or handwritten.
“We are moving away from outdated, manual processes and replacing technology that once relied on floppy disks with a modern system that allows air traffic controllers to instantly share critical flight warnings, restricted airspace plans and pilot reports,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.
A lack of funding has long been one of the problems that has stood in the way of modernizing air traffic control. The FAA is now using $12.5 billion in funding provided by President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” to replace the aging systems.
