FAA Rolls Out SMART AI Air Traffic Scheduling System to 22 Centers Nationwide
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On November 10, 2026, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it would expand its cloud-based SMART AI air traffic control advisory system from Washington, D.C. airspace to all 22 air traffic control centers nationwide, in a project costing $875 million. The system is used to predict traffic situations, recommend routes and arrival sequences, in order to reduce flight delays and fuel consumption. Since it went into operation on September 21, the system has assisted with rerouting 180 flights, saving an average of 10 minutes of flight time and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight. In terms of operation mode, the FAA's expert team is responsible for manually verifying the system's recommendations; however, the air traffic controllers' union said it was not involved in the system's design or testing.
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- Ars Technica · AIFAA expands AI advice to manage air traffic congestion across entire US airspace
On November 10, the FAA announced it will expand its $875 million cloud-based SMART system from Washington, DC airspace to all 22 air traffic control centers nationwide, to predict traffic situations, recommend routes and arrival sequences, and reduce delays and fuel consumption. Since going live on September 21, the system has helped reroute 180 flights, saving an average of 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight. An FAA expert team manually verifies the recommendations, but the air traffic controllers' union says it was not involved in the design or testing.
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