Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Announces FAA Modernization to Replace Floppy Disks in Air Traffic Control
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced a significant modernization effort by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to phase out outdated floppy disks and legacy systems used in air traffic control. For decades, air traffic controllers have relied on floppy disks to load critical data, including pilot reports and safety alerts, into their consoles. This issue gained public attention following a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., in 2025, which highlighted the aging infrastructure, including systems running on Windows 95. The FAA plans to replace four legacy systems that have been in operation for over 40 years with modern digital platforms. The initial rollout will occur at facilities in Atlantic City, Nashville, Rochester, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City, with a complete transition across all 435 FAA control facilities targeted by the end of 2028. FAA head Brian Bedford stated that this upgrade will eliminate manual procedures and provide controllers with instant access to vital flight in...
