FAA launches AI tool to reduce flight delays
Niv Bavarsky
You won’t find Agent 99 or Hymie the Robot in Washington, DC, but its three main airports are getting SMART nonetheless. Yesterday, the FAA rolled out Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART), an $875 million AI system that’s intended to help air traffic control avoid inciting the rage of a thousand travelers flight disruptions.
According to the Transportation Department:
- SMART is designed to analyze the skies for potential flight obstacles—e.g., weather and runway capacity—and suggest alternate routes to air traffic controllers, who will still have the final say.
- The tool is being piloted at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
- The agency hopes to expand usage nationwide by 2028.
Still, some experts are wary of AI-maxxing the tarmac. And Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat who represents the district containing Reagan National Airport, called for the immediate suspension of SMART after learning “air traffic controllers were not consulted” on the system’s design and “were not trained on using it prior to the system’s adoption at local airports.”
The FAA has said SMART won’t replace workers, though the union representing air traffic controllers is reportedly already beefing with the Trump administration over how many controllers the FAA should hire to plug its persistent shortage.