FAA Turns to $875M AI System to Ease Air Traffic Strain

The Federal Aviation Administration has been grappling with an air traffic control shortage across the country, and it's now betting on a costly AI fix.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the agency will soon roll out SMART - Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories - an automated software program built to help controllers manage their workloads and guide flights more safely.

A one-page readout describes SMART as a cloud-based platform that upgrades existing FAA air traffic management systems. It uses AI to weigh airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions, and operational constraints, forecasting traffic flows and flagging potential conflicts before they happen.

The software comes from a company called Air Space Intelligence and will cost $875 million over 12 years. It launches first in the Washington, D.C. area before spreading to other regions.

The FAA separately announced a hiring plan earlier this year that it said would wipe out the staffing shortage, alongside a broader push to modernize the country's aging air traffic systems.