The FAA is finally ditching floppy disks

The Verge · Andrew J. Hawkins · 2026-11-05 17:13 UTC

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the FAA is replacing 1980s floppy disks with the E-IDS digital system, using legacy tech debt to deflect from aviation crises.

It’s the year 2026 and the Federal Aviation Administration is still running critical pieces of American airspace on 3.5-inch magnetic floppy disks.

But those technology artifacts could be headed for the dustbin after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an effort to ditch floppy disks in favor of a new digital system.

Duffy announced Thursday that the FAA is rolling out the Enterprise – Information Display System (E-IDS) to replace four legacy setups across more than 400 air traffic control facilities. E-IDS aggregates real-time weather alerts, equipment outages, restricted airspace changes, and pilot reports onto a modern digital dashboard, replacing manual workflows and archaic physical storage media.

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