The Pulse
FAA Starts D.C. Trial of AI Tool for Air-Traffic Scheduling
The FAA has begun limited use of SMART, an AI-supported system that analyzes 200 air-traffic data streams around Washington, D.C. The agency says human controllers will retain decision-making authority as the tool expands to other regions.
AI.info Team ·
The Federal Aviation Administration began testing an AI-supported air-traffic management system around Washington, D.C., on September 21, the same day a separate communications failure disrupted flights across the Northeast. The contrast exposed the problem the agency says its new software is meant to address: air traffic managers still contend with aging infrastructure and fragmented information while trying to anticipate congestion, weather and staffing limits.
The system, called Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories, or SMART, does not direct aircraft or replace controllers. The FAA says it gives planners earlier warnings and scheduling recommendations, with agency personnel retaining authority over every decision. The Associated Press reported that the D.C.-area test did not appear to be connected to the Northeast outage, which involved failures in primary and backup communications routes at an FAA facility in Philadelphia.
SMART Begins With a Limited Washington Trial
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced SMART on September 21. The initial deployment covers the National Capital Region and is expected to expand gradually, according to the Department of Transportation and the FAA.
The software brings together 200 data streams, including weather patterns, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing metrics. Its AI-supported engine uses those inputs to show where aircraft are expected to travel, how much capacity remains available and where weather or congestion could create problems.
FAA aviation specialists can then use the system to recommend earlier changes to departure times, routes and traffic flows. The agency says SMART is designed to help planners work hours, days or weeks ahead instead of responding only after delays have formed.
“By fundamentally reshaping how we manage our airspace and preventing problems before they happen, SMART will slash those frustrating delays, reduce stress on air traffic controllers, and lower travel prices.”
Sean P. Duffy, U.S. transportation secretary
The FAA Says Humans Still Make the Calls
The agency is drawing a firm boundary around the system’s role. SMART cannot take control of an aircraft, replace air-traffic controllers or impose its recommendations on local facilities. FAA staff must review the system’s suggestions, and local air-traffic leadership can accept or reject them.
That distinction matters because SMART enters service while the FAA is carrying out a wider modernization program and attempting to address staffing shortages. In testimony on September 15, Bedford said the agency had about 11,000 certified professional controllers working across 313 federal air-traffic facilities as of August, with another 4,000 controllers in training.
Bedford’s testimony describes SMART as one part of a broader architecture. The companion Flow Management Data and Services system is intended to combine weather, airline schedules, aircraft positions and projected trajectories into a shared operational picture. SMART uses that information to predict congestion and conflicts earlier, while another planned system, the Common Automation Platform, is intended to provide a consistent interface for air-traffic control functions.
Airlines Welcome the Promise, Critics Want More Evidence
Airlines have largely endorsed the project. United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby said that, if the system performs as expected, it could reduce delays and cancellations more than any comparable change in decades. Delta, American and Southwest also issued supportive statements about the FAA’s modernization effort.
Outside the airline industry, the response has been more cautious. Ella Atkins, an aerospace engineering professor at Virginia Tech, told The Washington Post that the FAA has released extensive descriptions of SMART’s functions but little technical information about how the system works. Michael McCormick of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University described it as a planning aid that presents alternatives for human decision-makers.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it was not involved in SMART’s design, testing or implementation. The union said new technology should support, rather than replace, controllers’ experience, training and professional judgment.
A $875 Million System Inside a Larger Overhaul
SMART is part of a 12-year, $875 million contract awarded in June to Air Space Intelligence, a Boston-based aerospace and software company. The contract also covers the Flow Management Data and Services platform, which the FAA describes as a foundation for a modernized Air Traffic Control System Command Center.
The program sits within a broader federal investment of $12.5 billion for air-traffic infrastructure. The FAA says that effort includes replacing telecommunications equipment, installing new radios and radar systems, moving facilities from paper flight strips to electronic displays and upgrading automation systems.
Monday’s outage showed why software alone cannot solve every failure. The AP reported that Newark saw no commercial arrivals for much of the day after a primary circuit failed and workers discovered that a backup fiber line had been cut. SMART may help the FAA plan around congestion and weather, but its first test begins alongside the less glamorous work of replacing the physical network that carries air-traffic data.
The First Test Is Prediction, Not Control
The D.C. rollout will show whether SMART can produce useful recommendations early enough for airlines, airports and controllers to act on them. The FAA has not claimed that the system will independently control aircraft or eliminate delays; its stated purpose is to improve the timing and quality of decisions made by human planners.
For now, SMART is operating in limited mode around Washington, with a staged expansion planned over the coming months. Its first measurable test will be whether those recommendations help the FAA manage demand before bad weather, limited capacity or staffing constraints turn into passenger delays.