FAA extends its SMART AI tool to all 22 US air traffic control centers
Controllers across the country will get AI route advice after a Washington, DC trial that saved time and fuel, though the controllers' union says it had no role in the system.
The FAA has widened its AI decision-support tool, called SMART, for air traffic controllers to cover all 22 control centers across the country. The system, which cost $875 million, was first used over Washington, DC, from September 21 and has rerouted 180 flights there. The agency reports average savings of 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight, and it hopes those gains can be repeated nationally. Airline executives back the rollout, while the union representing controllers says it had no part in designing or testing the system.
Why it matters
For controllers, the change means AI-generated rerouting suggestions move from a single region into daily work at every center, with their union outside the design and testing process. For passengers and airlines, the FAA's reported gains of about 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight are the measurable outcome to watch as the rollout spreads. The $875 million cost and the union's objection set the terms of the debate over whether those gains hold up outside Washington.
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