FAA to retire floppy disks from ATC by 2028
Original: US FAA says it will phase out floppy disks from air traffic control by 2028
Why This Matters
Legacy tech in ATC is a live safety issue; modernization timelines affect aviation reliability.
The US Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to phase out floppy disk usage in its air traffic control systems by 2028, replacing decades-old storage media still embedded in critical aviation infrastructure.
The FAA has confirmed it will eliminate floppy disks from air traffic control operations by 2028, according to a Reuters report. The agency's reliance on the obsolete storage format has long drawn scrutiny — floppy disks, standard tech in the 1970s and 80s, have persisted in aviation systems largely because replacing deeply integrated legacy infrastructure carries its own safety risks. The FAA is not alone: the US military only retired floppy-disk-dependent nuclear command systems in 2019. No details were provided on what replacement technology will be used or the total cost of the modernization effort. The 2028 deadline gives the agency roughly two years to complete the transition across what are among the most safety-critical computer systems in the country.