The Federal Aviation Administration is turning to artificial intelligence to tackle one of air travel's biggest frustrations: cascading flight delays.
The new program, called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories), is designed to predict air traffic congestion up to two hours in advance.
Major hubs like Atlanta and Chicago have seen on-time performance as low as 20% to 25%, due to staffing shortages and outdated technology. SMART identifies these pressure points early, giving controllers time to adjust routes before delays snowball.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford have both backed the initiative as a key part of a broader airspace modernization.
The $12.5 billion program has three vendors competing for the prototype: Palantir Technologies, Thales, and Air Space Intelligence. The FAA has also requested an additional $20 billion for future upgrades.
Human controllers will still have final say-the AI suggests, humans decide.