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 most Flight Service Station (FSS) communication frequencies in the contiguous U.S. (excluding Alaska) due to a significant decline in pilot usage.
Usage has dropped from 22,000 daily requests in the mid-1980s to under 300 today, largely due to pilots adopting modern cockpit technology like electronic flight bags (EFBs).
This move aims to save $2.5 million annually in maintenance costs for the underutilized network; FSS will no longer provide in-flight advisories in the continental U.S., but emergency frequencies will remain monitored by ATC.
The FAA is soliciting public comments on this 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.