Posted on 09/18/2026 4:26:08 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The tool, called SMART, will crunch scheduling and weather data to predict and avoid delays. It will be deployed in the Washington region’s three major airports next week.
The Trump administration plans to roll out a new A.I. air traffic control tool designed to predict and prevent flight delays in the Washington region starting Monday, as the opening step of an eventual nationwide deployment.
The tool, called Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories, or SMART, is designed to analyze airline schedules, weather patterns and other potential air traffic interruptions to “predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur” and recommend alternate flight routes to avoid compound delays.
While the $875 million system is expected to be deployed nationwide by 2028, Monday’s rollout will be limited to the Washington region, affecting three airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Washington’s congested airspace, one of the busiest in the nation, has drawn particular scrutiny following the January 2025 midair collision between a commercial jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67. The National Transportation Safety Board placed the blame for certain failures leading up to the crash on the Federal Aviation Administration.
The phased rollout is a chance for the administration to assess how well the new technology helps airlines and air traffic controllers avoid flight delays, and whether artificial intelligence can help those responsible for managing airline traffic circumvent potential interruptions more efficiently than they can on their own. The rollout comes amid a national uproar over the rapid development of A.I. models and bipartisan calls to rein in the industry, which President Trump and several of his deputies have flatly rejected.
Against that background, Transportation Department officials stress that the SMART system will not replace human operators...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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I want AI in the control tower directing traffic. I trust the HAL 9000.
Used by DEI pilots and FAA controllers.
“… The tool, called Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories, or SMART…”
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Maybe they could have used ‘Transit’ in the tool’s name instead of ‘Trajectories’ to be less “ballistic”.
Just sayin’.
What could possibly go wrong?...........
and weather data
Washington state???...I know...just bugs me
Actually, ATC is a perfect place for AI, provided it is only trained to perform air traffic control.
AI that is trained on EVERYTHING is the danger.
When you walk up to my front door, the doorbell cam senses you coming and a picture of Dave Bowman appears on a small display on the doorbell. When you push the button, audio of Bowman saying “Open the pod bay door HAL” plays. And I did this over a year ago before the whole AI thing went nuts.
The Trump administration deserves much more credit. Improving airport scheduling is putting America First.
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