U.S. Air Traffic Control Begins Retiring Floppy Disks as New Display System Replaces Four 1980s-Era Systems
Washington — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced on November 5 that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is continuing its modernization of America's air traffic control system, replacing outdated floppy disks that contain vital weather and other critical information with a streamlined, 21st-century system. The first of the new systems replaced one of the legacy systems that day at the FAA's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The new system is the Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS). It replaces four systems dating back to the 1980s that are in use at 60 sites across the country. The Department of Transportation said E-IDS also improves information sharing and access to current information across the National Airspace System.
"Our air traffic control system has operated on floppy disks since the 1980s. That's unacceptable in 2026 and will end under President Trump's leadership," Duffy said. "Today, we took a significant step forward in our historic effort to modernize America's air traffic control system and build the safest, most advanced system in the world."
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said that under President Trump and Secretary Duffy, the FAA is moving at record pace to deliver a brand new air traffic control system for the American people, and that moving from floppy disks to E-IDS is one small but important step toward the full-scale modernization of America's air traffic control system.
According to the department, E-IDS improves safety by enhancing controller situational awareness with access to current information; improves operational efficiency by reducing the time controllers spend searching for information; provides more accurate information by minimizing manual updates and automating the flow of information; strengthens reliability by eliminating single points of failure through redundancy; streamlines the interface to make it easier and more intuitive to use; and creates a standardized system that can be updated consistently and efficiently.
Secretary Duffy and Administrator Bedford joined senior FAA leadership and members of the air traffic control team at the Technical Center that day to retire the decades-old floppy disks and load the new E-IDS system.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的联邦航空管理局（FAA）总部 Wilbur Wright 大楼，门前标识牌写有交通部与联邦航空管理局名称。照片：固定图库（美国联邦机构）。 / Photo: The Wilbur Wright Building, headquarters of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Washington, with the Department of Transportation and FAA sign in front. Photo: GSM federal asset library.
