FAA begins rollout of new AI air traffic controller system in DC

The Federal Aviation Administration will begin rolling out its new artificial intelligence tool to help air traffic controllers monitor the skies, starting the program in the Washington, D.C., area as soon as Monday.The FAA’s new Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories, or SMART, program uses AI to cross-analyze factors such as airplane travel, airport capacity, and local weather, with the ultimate goal of helping human air traffic controllers in their jobs. The new AI tool is part of a broader air traffic control system upgrade called the Flow Management Data and Services. Recommended Stories “Every day, our air traffic professionals knowingly manage thousands of scheduling conflicts across the National Airspace System, which ultimately end up as delays for the traveling public,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement. “FMDS with the SMART capabilities will help us address that challenge by improving how we manage airspace before flights depart, reducing congestion, easing controller workload, and directly cutting down delays across the system.” The FAA will begin rolling out the new AI-powered technology in the Washington, D.C., area on Monday, according to multiple reports, including the New York Times. The program will be administered at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to start.The Transportation Department agency awarded the 12-year program contract to Air Space Intelligence for $875.95 million in June 2026. The SMART program systems will be headquartered at the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Warrenton, Virginia, with the full system expected to be implemented at airports nationwide by 2028, according to the outlet.The FAA has emphasized that the AI-powered tool will be used by human air traffic controllers as an aid and will not replace human employees.“Air traffic controllers remain responsible for keeping aircraft safely separated. SMART helps them do that,” the FAA wrote in a fact sheet on the program.FAA CHIEF FACES BIPARTISAN PUSHBACK OVER DECISION TO WITHHOLD AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS’ RAISESThe new technology comes nearly 20 months after an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in mid-air with an American Airlines flight descending into Ronald Reagan airport in January 2025. The devastating mid-air collision killed 67 people and raised alarm bells about the systems that patrol the skies and the state of the FAA’s air traffic control program.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has made modernizing the air traffic control system a cornerstone of his policy agenda, announcing the rollout of the SMART program as part of that agenda.