FAA Winding Down Flight Service Frequencies

Mobile cockpit technology will be replacing radio-based services.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 11:51 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

The FAA is investigating a near-miss incident between a Cessna Citation and a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 after both were assigned to the same runway at San Diego International Airport. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA is proposing to decommission the Flight Service Station (FSS) radio communication network across the contiguous U.S. (excluding Alaska) due to a dramatic decline in usage.
Usage of the FSS network has plummeted from 22,000 daily service requests in the mid-1980s to fewer than 300 today, largely due to the widespread adoption of electronic flight bags (EFBs) and other portable cockpit technology.
The agency estimates the underutilized network costs $2.5 million annually to maintain and believes decommissioning it will not impact safety, though emergency frequencies will continue to be monitored by air traffic control.
The FAA has published a Notice of Intent and is seeking public comments on the decommissioning plan until May 27.

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When was the last time you contacted Flight Service over the radio? Apparently it is happening much less often, so much so that the FAA is considering a plan to decommission the Flight Service Station (FSS) network of communication frequencies through the contiguous U.S.—with the exception of those operating in Alaska.

The FAA published the Notice of Intent to close March in the Federal Register.