Comments Open on Plan to Shut Down Radio Network for Flight Service

The FAA has opened the comment period on a recent notice of intent that plans to shut down the entire network of Remote Communications Outlets (RCOs) in one fell swoop. The scheme, proposed due to a lack of demand, has already earned criticism from dozens of stakeholders.

The agency published the plan in the Federal Register on March 27, clarifying its intention to decommission the 936 RCOs across the nation that provide pilots access to Flight Service while in the air. This is a long-standing, low-maintenance network, established more than 40 years ago and receiving “little or no modifications since.”

RCOs used to be extremely popular, being utilized upwards of 22,000 times per day. Today, however, is a different story. Despite air traffic’s spike in recent years, the development of electronic flight bags like Foreflight and other digital services has dropped the number of daily RCO service requests to less than 300.

“The remaining infrastructure and staffing for this outdated method costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually to support the small number of pilots that have not converted to mobile technology,” the notice explained. “In January 2016, a MITRE study found that a vast majority of the frequencies were duplicate, overlapping, and seldom used.”

Just a year after this study was published, the agency shut down 404 RCOs and 237 VOR outlets with little to no pushback from the public. Abandoning this infrastructure directly saved the agency $2.5 million per year on maintenance alone.

Though the FAA isn’t necessarily wrong for wanting to keep up with the times and cut costs along the way, decommissioning the entire RCO network at once may be a little overkill. Demand has decreased- not completely vanished.

The notice of intent has already received over 110 comments. More can be submitted through May 27, 2025.

FMI: www.federalregister.gov