FAA to replace floppy-disk air traffic systems at 435 sites by 2028

The US Federal Aviation Administration announced on November 5, 2026, that it is replacing air traffic control systems that still rely on floppy disks with a digital display system called the Enterprise – Information Display System (E-IDS), according to Engadget.

The diskette systems remain in use at more than 400 facilities and still hold vital weather and other critical information, the agency said. E-IDS will serve as a digital display for status information, updates and alerts.

The FAA plans to install the system at 435 sites by the end of 2028. The first five locations are Atlantic City International Airport, Nashville International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, and data processing hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City.

The agency said the upgrades will give controllers faster access to information, reduce repair expenses and improve public air travel safety.

Decades-old hardware

The FAA systems being replaced date back to the 1980s, while IBM developed the first floppy disk in 1971. Other organizations have only recently moved away from the format: in 2019 the US Air Force ended its use of 8-inch diskettes tied to nuclear missile launch silos, and in 2024 the Japanese government said it had phased out all but one of its systems that still relied on floppy disks.