A new AI-powered air traffic control tool touted by the Trump administration as a way to reduce delays and offset overcrowded airspace launched at D.C.-area airports Monday.
The capital region airports — Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport — are the first to implement the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories (SMART) software ahead of a nationwide rollout, according to a Monday statement from the Department of Transportation. The program uses AI to analyze data including weather patterns, flight paths and controller staffing levels to make recommendations to air traffic controllers and “prevent disruptions before they happen” by suggesting alternative routes when airspace is crowded.
The $875 million system is part of the administration’s push to modernize the nation’s air-traffic infrastructure and is expected to be deployed nationwide by 2028. That $12.5 billion investment will upgrade communication lines and install new radars and radios. The new AI program will reshape airspace management by predicting congestion problems up to weeks in advance, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
“To really improve the flying experience for American people, we needed to build a 21st century scheduling tool like SMART,” Duffy said.
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The Transportation Department has assured the SMART software will not replace human decision-making but rather support air traffic controllers by providing recommendations, not making final decisions about flight paths or controlling airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration currently has about 11,000 certified air traffic controllers with plans to increase the workforce to 12,563 by 2028. That’s down from the 14,633 it planned to hire for those years back in 2024.
Washington’s airspace is one of the busiest in the nation and has drawn scrutiny for years. There’s been a renewed effort to fix the jumbled flight corridor following a deadly January 2025 collision that killed 67 people at Reagan National Airport. A report from the National Transportation Safety Board faulted the FAA for various failures leading to the crash.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who co-sponsored recent legislation aimed to reduce the number of flights at Reagan National and address overcrowding, said AI is not going to fix the problem.
“The National Transportation Safety Board issued 50 safety recommendations in the wake of the tragic midair collision near DCA—and none have been fully implemented yet,” he said. “Instead of cutting corners with new AI proposals, our immediate focus should be on those recommendations, the need to reduce flight traffic in and out of DCA, and reauthorizing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law so we can modernize and staff up our air traffic control towers and networks.”
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement the new software, in combination with ongoing physical upgrades, will maintain a “gold standard of safety” across the nation.
The Trump administration also plugged potentially lower ticker prices thanks to SMART, which it said will help airlines waste less fuel and reduce staff overtime, passing on savings to customers.
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