FAA rolls out air traffic AI tool in Washington region

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation launched a new artificial intelligence tool in the Washington, D.C., area Monday intended to predict flight delays and advise air traffic controllers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a press conference that the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routing and Trajectories (SMART) tool is the most advanced air traffic management system in the world and is being deployed for the first time in the D.C. area.

Duffy added that the tool — which cost the department $875 million — will ingest real-time flight data as well as current and future weather conditions to recommend necessary flight path changes to air traffic controllers.

“Humans sometimes don’t always make the right decisions,” he said. “Our system actually takes all of that data and gives a prompt to a human on how to better manage the airspace.”

Duffy stressed that human controllers will always manage American airspace. He said the SMART tool will advise the controllers with better information and data on the current and future conditions.

SMART allows controllers to have a real-time view of which planes are at the gate, taxiing and waiting for departure. It provides controllers with information on how long a plane has been waiting to take off by changing the color of the plane on the analyst’s screen, giving controllers visual cues on the status of departing flights.

Duffy said SMART will create a better flight experience for the American people by making American airspace more efficient.

“This is what America asked for,” Duffy said. “They said, ‘I’m sick of the experience that I have right now in America, I’m sick of the delays.’”

Bryan Bedford, administrator of the FAA, clarified that SMART will not be used by controllers whose job it is to prevent collisions and maintain safety — 15,000 of whom operate at airports across the country.

Instead, the tool will be used by traffic analysts who use data to decide whether to close or open certain airspace through ground stops and similar procedures.

Bedford said the FAA’s current procedure is to open or close airspace based on at-ground weather conditions, not the conditions at flight altitude. He added that SMART can show how a storm may shift in the near future and will allow personnel to factor in accurate weather data and predicted patterns to make flying more efficient.

“We think we can use better predictive analytics and we can use the better understanding of how weather is evolving and its intensity at altitude, and we can make much better airspace decisions,” Bedford said.

Bedford then demonstrated how the SMART system helps controllers view when two or more flights are set to land at a conflicting time. The new technology allows them to direct the flights and tweak flight paths or speeds so all flights can land without severe delays.

Duffy said SMART has been deployed in the D.C. region — at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport — and will be expanded to other areas in the future. He said SMART serves as an update to decades-old technology currently used across the country.

“What we’ve thought through is, let’s use the best technology possible, the best predictors possible so humans can make the best decisions possible,” Duffy said. “And when we make the best decisions possible that means you have less delays and you have less cancellations.”

Duffy repeatedly stressed that humans will continue to control airspace and said there will be a gradual improvement to the flying experience as Americans continue to fly.

“The future of aviation is months away as we deploy these new tools,” the secretary said.