FAA rolls out air traffic AI tool in Washington region

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Trending on The Hill - September 21, 2026

Trending on The Hill - September 21, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation launched a new artificial intelligence tool in the Washington, D.C., area Monday intended to predict flight delays and advise air traffic controllers. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference that the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories (SMART) tool is the most advanced air traffic management system in the world and is being deployed for the first time in the D.C. area.

Duffy added that the tool — which cost the department $875 million — will ingest real-time flight data as well as current and future weather conditions to recommend necessary flight path changes to air traffic controllers. 

“Humans sometimes don’t always make the right decisions,” he said. “Our system actually takes all of that data and gives a prompt to a human on how to better manage the airspace.”

Duffy stressed that human controllers will always manage American airspace. He said the SMART tool will advise the........

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