The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing to launch SMART, an artificial-intelligence tool designed to support flight management. After weeks of discussions with airlines, the agency has clarified that the system will not initially alter the daily work of air traffic controllers or carriers. Instead, it will provide alternative route suggestions through existing procedures, easing earlier concerns about possible increases in cancellations, rebookings and operational disruption.
SMART stands for Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories. The program is expected to begin within days, initially supporting flights at three airports in the Washington, D.C., area. The FAA plans to run the trial for about 90 days before deciding whether to expand it. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the first phase will focus on testing the system's performance and allowing airlines to assess whether its forecasts are reliable.
SMART will initially offer route alternatives
SMART will not create new operating procedures for controllers or airlines, nor will it take over day-to-day air traffic management. The system will identify alternative routes that could be used when severe weather, airport congestion or other factors affect flight operations. Its recommendations will then be sent through the FAA's existing communications and command structure to established command centers and the systems used by air traffic controllers.
That approach differs from what some airlines had initially understood. During the past several weeks, some airline executives were unclear about where artificial intelligence would be incorporated into air traffic operations. They also did not know whether the software developer would send route information directly to carriers and controllers, or whether airlines would need to train employees and retain the option not to use the system.
An airline industry participant said carriers had consistently pressed the FAA to narrow the project's scope and introduce it gradually. With the agency now describing SMART as an additional source of route options rather than a replacement for existing processes, concerns about integrating the tool into airline scheduling and operations have eased.
The 90-day trial will test weather forecasts
During the trial, Bedford said the FAA will work with airlines to examine individual flights, compare different paths and measure the accuracy of SMART's predictive analysis. A key function will not be simply identifying where a weather system is located, but forecasting where it is likely to move.
That distinction could affect decisions about when to open or close portions of airspace. More accurate forecasts could help the FAA avoid keeping airspace closed for too long because of overly cautious assumptions, while releasing additional capacity when safety conditions allow. When airports are already facing queues and congestion, more routing options could also help aircraft move out of bottlenecks faster and limit knock-on effects for later flights.
Airline officials remain cautious about how much work the system will be able to perform once it enters operational use. The industry broadly recognizes the potential value of predictive analysis during weather events and traffic disruptions, but airline operations also depend on schedules, crews, airport slots and air traffic-control instructions. Testing will determine whether SMART can fit smoothly into those existing procedures.
Airlines remain concerned about cancellations and rebookings
Before the FAA provided more detail on the deployment plan, some carriers feared that the system could recommend broad schedule changes to avoid congestion or weather disruptions in advance. That could increase cancellations, rebookings and flight rescheduling, creating additional costs for airlines and passengers. Participants in the discussions did not indicate that SMART would compromise flight safety.
Airlines have held group meetings with the FAA almost every week for the past three months to discuss implementation details. Three industry participants said that, until recently, some operational questions had not received sufficiently specific answers. On September 10, Bedford met in person with the chief executives of major carriers including United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines to explain the deployment plan further. Participants said the meeting clearly reduced industry concerns, and airline executives were broadly positive about the program.
Air Space Intelligence is developing the system
SMART is being developed by Boston-based software company Air Space Intelligence. The company received the relevant contract in June as part of a 12-year, $875 million air traffic-control modernization program. Under the current design, recommendations generated by the system will be sent from a SMART center at the U.S. Department of Transportation to existing command centers, then relayed to front-line personnel through systems familiar to controllers.
FAA spokeswoman Hannah Walden said airlines had been involved from the early stages of the project. The agency will continue gathering industry feedback during deployment and plans to proceed “slowly and deliberately,” she said. SMART is intended to identify problems before congestion or weather causes delays, giving air traffic personnel more time to respond.
The project is part of the broader modernization of the U.S. air traffic-control system. The FAA has faced aging infrastructure, crowded airspace and staffing pressure in recent years. A fatal midair collision over Washington in January 2025 and a fatal runway accident at New York's LaGuardia Airport in March 2026 have added to scrutiny of aviation safety and air traffic-control operations.
Airlines support a gradual rollout
United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby said on September 9 that, if SMART performs as expected, its ability to reduce delays and cancellations during severe weather could exceed that of other measures introduced over the past several decades. American Airlines Chief Executive Robert Isom said carriers were working closely with the FAA and that the system could provide greater benefits to passengers only if it was introduced cautiously and in stages.
Airlines for America, the industry's trade group, said SMART could help improve safety, increase airspace capacity and strengthen operational efficiency while reducing delays and cancellations across the country. Delta Air Lines said it fully supported the FAA's modernization program and the SMART project and had participated in its development.
For now, SMART's first test is not a wholesale change to the air traffic-control system but a 90-day evaluation involving the initial airports and flights. The accuracy of its forecasts, whether controllers and airlines adopt its recommendations, and whether the tool leads to additional operational changes will be central to the FAA's decision on expanding the program.