The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing to implement a large-scale technical step that involves permanently abandoning floppy disks used in the air traffic control system, as part of a comprehensive modernization process aimed at giving air controllers faster and more reliable access to vital flight safety data.
The agency announced that the new system, known as the Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS), will be deployed across 435 facilities, replacing legacy display systems dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, which suffered from technical issues related to the end of their operational lifespan and reliance on outdated software such as MS-DOS.
What actually changes for air traffic controllers?
The new system will address two of the most prominent safety concerns: the distribution of Pilot Reports (PIREPs) and the distribution of Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) concerning unusual conditions and hazards. Instead of data being scattered across multiple systems that require laborious searching and manual update methods, E-IDS provides a unified platform that integrates all information onto a single screen, allowing controllers to make split-second decisions to maintain the safety of the national airspace.
Upgrade schedule and targeted locations
The time cost for this update is one year to complete across all targeted facilities, with the first batch including the Atlantic City, Nashville, and Rochester airports, in addition to the data processing centers in Atlanta and Salt Lake City. The agency plans to fully complete the deployment of the new system across 435 locations by the end of 2028.
System development background
Planning for this change dates back many years, as the agency awarded a contract to Leidos in August 2020 to design and develop the system as part of the broader Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) modernization project. Despite successive political administrations overseeing the project, this update comes to end decades of reliance on technologies described by a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report as cumbersome and inefficient in organization and retrieval.