The FAA plans to start using an AI tool called SMART to schedule flight departures before planes leave the gate, beginning in the Washington, D.C. area. Air Space Intelligence built the tool under a 12-year, $875 million contract.
FAA command-center staff and airline dispatchers will share forecasts for schedules, weather and airspace capacity, then agree on routes and departure times ahead of takeoff. The FAA has said only that operations begin “this fall.” The Wall Street Journal reported the Washington debut could come as soon as Monday.
SMART does not route planes once they are airborne. Controllers still separate aircraft in the air. Air Space Intelligence's airline customers include Alaska, Delta and United.
The FAA's SMART one-pager says the tool “creates capacity for new airlines, cargo operators, and advanced air mobility aircraft.” That makes additional capacity the key operational question for cargo and other new operators as the system rolls out.
Air Space Intelligence beat two larger competitors, Palantir and Thales, for the contract. The Boston startup arrived with a platform already running at scale rather than a development plan, TechCrunch reported.
“AI is a tool, but we do not replace humans in how we manage the airspace,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said of the FAA’s AI push. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the rollout includes a 90-day testing period before the agency expands SMART to other regions.
