While you might be pondering whether to replace a smartphone with one that has a slightly better camera or a second screen, the Federal Aviation Administration is planning a much bigger leap in technology for the country’s air traffic control system.
The FAA said yesterday that it will stop using floppy disks as part of a long-awaited upgrade that will give air traffic controllers faster access to data needed for crucial safety alerts. The new Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS) will be installed in 435 facilities, replacing several information display systems dating to the 1980s.
The FAA “is continuing its historic modernization of America’s air traffic control system by replacing outdated floppy disks that contain vital weather and other critical information with a streamlined, 21st-century system,” the agency said. E-IDS will be “deployed to operational control positions at more than 400 facilities across all air traffic control domains,” and “provide operationally essential information for controlling aircraft,” the FAA said .
The change has been in the works for over six years. “No more floppy disks or paper strips,” then-Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau told the House Appropriations Committee last year.
The FAA said E-IDS will replace older tools that have “technical end-of-life issues” and address two of the aviation agency’s top safety concerns: distribution of weather alerts to pilots (known as PIREP for Pilot Report); and timely distribution of Notices to Airmen ( NOTAM ), which include information on abnormal statuses and hazards.
“E-IDS gives air traffic controllers the information they need to make timely decisions and keep the flying public safe,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. “We’re moving away from outdated, manual processes and replacing technology that once relied on floppy disks with a modern system that allows controllers to instantly share critical flight alerts, restricted airspace schedules and pilot reports across the National Airspace System.”
It’ll take a year or so to make the upgrades at every facility. The first sites to get E-IDS will be Atlantic City International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, and data processing hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. The FAA said it plans to complete the upgrade at 435 sites by the end of 2028.
