A group of Democrats in Congress is asking the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Department to stop using an AI tool to assist with D.C.-area flight management until they answer questions about its safe implementation.
The FAA and DOT launched the AI-enabled Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART) tool on Sept. 21.
The deployment in the D.C. region is part one of a phased rollout that began with a 90-day evaluation period before broader, nationwide use.
Twenty-five members of Congress addressed their concerns in an Oct. 9 letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford.
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“We are deeply concerned about the integration of any AI-enabled system into air traffic control systems, where decisions are literally a matter of life or death,” said the letter signed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), LaMonica McIver (New Jersey), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), Jamie Raskin (Maryland) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Maryland). D.C.’s nonvoting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, also joined the letter.
The lawmakers wrote that they’re concerned about SMART assisting air traffic controllers and that Congress has not received safety evaluations, testing reports or information about how workers were trained to use the technology.
The letter referenced the Jan. 29, 2025, crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in which 67 people died after an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided in midair.
SMART is currently being used to help with air traffic at DCA, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Last year, Congress appropriated $12.5 billion toward modernizing air traffic control systems in the wake of recent tragedies. The government built SMART through a 12-year, $875 million contract.
Lawmakers worry the AI could complicate an already strained system. In 2025, Duffy said the FAA was short 3,000 air traffic controllers.
“We ask that you pause any use of the SMART tool until we can better understand your decision-making, rollout process and evaluation plan,” the letter from Democrats continued, noting that safety workers have said they were not given an ample heads-up about the technology’s deployment.
The FAA said in an email to The Washington Sun that a team of specialists will analyze the data and provide scheduling recommendations to the agency’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center.
The recommendations will then be routed to air traffic control facilities for consideration by local leadership.
“As the agency continues to test SMART, train employees, and assess how the program is working, additional solutions will be rolled out,” the agency said.
In response to calls to suspend the technology’s use, Duffy wrote on X: “Here’s the truth: HUMANS still control the airspace and HUMANS still make the calls. With SMART, we are giving air traffic controllers new technology and better data to make critical decisions.”
Not all lawmakers oppose the technology. In a September statement, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) said the agencies are changing the industry from “reactive to predictive.”
He added: “I recognize how beneficial this tool and other investments will be for all our air traffic controllers.”
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