FAA launches $875M AI system to manage U.S. airspace

Controllers’ union distances itself from SMART rollout

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday officially launched its $875 million software overhaul, rolling out an AI-enhanced system known as Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories, or SMART, at three major airports serving the Washington, D.C. region. The launch comes as the FAA remains thousands of certified air traffic controllers short of full staffing, forcing many controllers to work mandatory overtime.

FAA leaders said SMART will help optimize the nation’s airspace by considering all planned airline flights, as well as weather, wind, and other variables, and tweaking those flight schedules to reduce congestion. “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,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.

FAA and Transportation Department leaders emphasized that the new technology is not a replacement for human air traffic controllers. They described it as a tool intended to make controllers’ jobs easier by reducing congestion and conflicts before they arise. “The way we manage traffic today is chaotic and we can do better,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said during a Senate hearing earlier this year. “We need to manage that at the FAA, rather than rely on commercial airlines to simply schedule however they want.”

The FAA awarded the SMART contract to Air Space Intelligence, a relatively small company that has previously built AI-enhanced software for dispatchers at Alaska Airlines and other carriers. The SMART deployment represents a significantly larger and more public test of the firm’s technology.

Former air traffic controller Dave Riley, who retired in 2020 after more than 20 years at the FAA, said he was skeptical the system would be the game-changer agency leaders have promised. “It won’t replace humans. It’ll be another tool in the toolbox,” Riley said. “But of course, when you call it AI, it gets a lot of attention.” He downplayed concerns about the tool going rogue, noting that human controllers remain in charge of keeping aircraft safely separated. “The fears of AI killing us all in the next 10 years, I don’t think this platform is going to be about that,” he said.

Riley questioned whether the tool would address deeper problems in the system, particularly the controller staffing shortage. The FAA remains thousands of certified air traffic controllers short of full staffing, a gap that has forced many controllers into mandatory overtime and grueling schedules, according to the agency.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents controllers, distanced itself from the rollout. “NATCA has not been involved in the design, testing, or implementation of SMART and therefore cannot speak to its effect on the air traffic control workforce at this time,” the union said in a statement.

Airlines for America, the trade association representing major U.S. carriers, praised the FAA’s modernization push. “Its potential to strengthen safety, increase capacity and improve efficiency will have a direct positive effect on American travelers,” the group said in a statement. “We’re just in the initial stages, but it’s one of the most exciting and bold initiatives taken on by the FAA in decades.”

The SMART rollout is part of a broader $12.5 billion push to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system.