FAA’s Flight Plan Computer Servers to Be Updated Soon

Every day, more than 1.5 million messages are generated as part of the FAA flight plan infrastructure. The agency is nearing rollout of a hardware update that will fully integrate the process, streamlining the flow of information. The new National Airspace Data Interchange Network covers airlines and general aviation flights, with flight plans filed through a third-party service provider or a flight service station. The system will also handle weather information and other messages. Under the modernized system, said FAA's IT administrator Jim McNeill, services will be provisioned across a single server, reducing instances of computer crashes and also reducing the system's vulnerability to hackers.