US air traffic control still operates with floppy disks; see how they work

Duffy has advocated for increased funding to modernize U.S. infrastructure. In the country, controllers at more than 400 air traffic control centers still use information saved on floppy disks, a technology from the 1970s.

Floppy disks are data storage devices with an internal magnetic disk and a plastic finish. They came before CDs, flash drives and cloud storage services. The most popular 3.5-inch model only had 1.44 megabytes of storage.

Despite being old, the floppy disks were not the cause of the problem. According to the US Secretary of Transportation, the incident may have been caused by an error in the exchange of copper cables for fiber optics in a traffic control system.

The floppy disks still used by flight controllers in the USA allow storing and updating meteorological data, warnings to pilots and information about airports, for example.

Four tools created in the 1980s will be replaced by the so-called Enterprise Information Display System (E-IDS). The new interface will bring operational data together in one place to help flight controllers quickly view updates.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the new system allows flight controllers to quickly share critical alerts, restricted airspace schedules and pilot reports.

"We are moving away from manual, outdated processes and replacing technology that previously relied on floppy disks with a modern system," said Bedford in early November.

In 2025, the US Congress approved an investment of US$12.5 billion (R$68.7 billion) to modernize the American air traffic system. The Transport Secretary's expectation is to obtain another US$30 billion (R$109 billion) to carry out other improvements.