FAA’s AI-Powered Air Traffic Management System Could Debut in September

Officials share new details of the Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART) platform.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Transportation Department officials envision the system predicting airspace conditions up to six months in advance. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's AI-powered SMART system is designed to predict airspace conditions, weather, and traffic months in advance to optimize air traffic management and reduce delays.
Its initial operational demonstration is set for September, focusing on en route airspace at 24,000 feet and above, utilizing AI and cloud computing to refine aircraft trajectory predictions.
SMART serves as a strategic workload reduction tool for controllers, aiding in long-term planning and deconfliction, but human controllers will remain responsible for safety-critical aircraft separation.

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The FAA this week provided fresh details on how Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART)—an artificial intelligence-powered air traffic management system designed to predict weather, traffic, and other conditions months in advance—will initially be deployed.

Steve Fulton, an FAA senior certification advisor and technical pilot, said SMART’s initial operational demonstration will focus on en route airspace 24,000 feet and above, Aviation Week reported. The deployment is on track for September, he said.