DOT Deploys AI Air Traffic Tool at DC-Area Airports

DOT launches AI pilot program for air traffic management

The U.S. Department of Transportation has begun deploying an artificial intelligence system designed to reduce flight delays at three Washington, D.C.-area airports, according to NBC Washington. Reagan National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport are serving as the initial testing sites for the technology.

The system, called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace Routes and Trajectories), processes real-time data including weather conditions, airport congestion, and flight paths to recommend optimized routing decisions. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that the tool functions as a predictive assistant rather than an autonomous controller.

"This is a predictive tool that will give a prompt to a human, to someone who is managing the airspace, but it's always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America," Duffy said during a demonstration at DOT headquarters.

Why it matters

The deployment represents the federal government's first operational use of AI in air traffic management, a domain where even minor errors can have catastrophic consequences. The choice to pilot the system in one of the nation's most complex airspaces—without apparent advance consultation with air traffic controllers or extensive public notice—has raised questions about implementation protocols for AI systems in safety-critical infrastructure.

Capacity claims and safety concerns

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford suggested the technology could unlock additional capacity at Reagan National, an airport widely considered slot-constrained. "We've got significant inefficiencies here where we can better align capacity to demand," Bedford stated.

However, the rollout has drawn immediate pushback. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association told NBC Washington that "any new technology should complement and not replace the experience, training, and professional judgment of air traffic controllers who are responsible for the safety of the National Airspace System."

Virginia Representative Don Beyer, co-chair of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, called for the program's suspension. "The FAA should not use my constituents as guinea pigs for an unproven AI air traffic control system," Beyer said in a statement. He noted that air traffic controllers were reportedly not consulted during the system's design and did not receive training before implementation.

Beyer's district includes Reagan National, which handles 24 million passengers annually. His statement referenced lingering safety concerns following last year's fatal accident in the region.

Contract and timeline

The SMART system stems from an $875 million contract awarded to a Boston-based software company. According to Duffy, the technology has not been deployed elsewhere in the world, making the D.C.-area airports the first operational test sites. The DOT plans to expand the system nationally by 2028.

These details were first reported by NBC Washington.