FAA begins replacing air traffic control systems running on floppy disks

According to the agency, the legacy systems contain meteorological and other critical data for air traffic controllers and operate at more than 400 facilities across the country. They will be replaced by the Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS). This is a digital platform that brings operational data, updates, and alerts onto a single screen. As reported by 3DNews citing The Register, it will replace four systems, including Information Display System 4 and the En Route Information Display System (ERIDS). The FAA expects the transition to speed up controllers' access to information, cut maintenance costs, and improve flight safety.

Five facilities have been selected as pilot sites for E-IDS: Nashville, Rochester, and Atlantic City international airports, as well as FAA data centres in Salt Lake City and Atlanta. FAA head Bryan Bedford called the goal of the modernisation moving away from obsolete manual processes and speeding up the delivery of critical notifications.

According to The Register, Bedford also stated that continuing the upgrade requires passing the Modern Skies Act, which provides for an allocation of $30 billion. The Big Beautiful Bill provides $12.5 billion for the FAA. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) pointed out in September that the agency's funding needs are not fully covered: an additional $10.2 billion is required for the second phase of modernisation, and the timeline for its completion has not yet been set.