The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have announced they are investing in an AI platform to improve air traffic control (ATC) across the US capital.

Called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories), the Department of Transportation say the software will improve ATC management in the Washington DC area. It is designed to enhance existing systems and will not be used to cover staff shortages.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said:

Once implemented, we will fundamentally reshape how the airspace is managed — slashing thousands of delays and cancellations in the process.

The airports covered in the rollout are Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), Washington Dulles (IAD), and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI).

The main runway at DCA is the busiest in the US. In January 2025 a military helicopter collided with a passenger jet above the airport — the deadliest American air traffic incident in decades. Ahead of the incident, air traffic controllers had complained about the difficulty of managing high volumes of aircraft.

Shortages in personnel and intermittent government shutdowns have exacerbated issues across the US’s outdated ATC infrastructure. In March this year, another deadly crash occurred at LaGuardia New York, when a passenger jet collided with an emergency response vehicle. Additionally, tech issues, such as those that affected New York Newark in 2025, can cause widespread delays across the travel ecosystem.

Duffy has pledged to modernism ATC and make US aviation safer and more efficient. Last year, Congress approved US$12.5 billion in funding to modernise control towers, connectivity, and radar across the country.

Air Space Intelligence, based in DC, developed the new AI platform after they were awarded a government contract in June. It processes live scheduling data, weather information, and other operational conditions to improve efficiency and predict potential areas of conflict. SMART could go live as early as this week across one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs.

Join us at World Aviation Festival 2026.

For more like this, see: