Major airports in the Baltimore-Washington region will serve as guinea pigs for a new artificial intelligence-powered tool aimed at helping to manage the tarmac and airspace.
This week, federal officials offered a sneak peek of the new Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories, or SMART tool. It provides air traffic coordinators with comprehensive real-time and predictive data to give them a more centralized picture of shifting weather, runway congestion and flight diversions.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which manages U.S. airspace and oversees air traffic controllers, is piloting the new tool at three airports — BWI Thurgood Marshall, Dulles International and Reagan National — ahead of a larger rollout.
Officials said the tool will help augment controllers’ decision-making by providing them with the best data possible and allow them to stay focused on safety.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the tool will not replace human controllers. “It’s always going to be a human that manages the airspace in [the United States of] America,” he said Monday.
“We are not outsourcing aviation to AI, that is not what we’re doing,” Duffy said during a demo of the tool. “But we’re using predictive tools to help humans better manage the airspace.”
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The announcement comes as officials undertake Modern Skies, a $12.5 billion overhaul of the software, hardware and other infrastructure that keeps air travel moving safely. But it’s also likely to draw the ire of AI skeptics as many call for more regulation of the technology that’s making its way into every facet of life.
Representatives from the Maryland Aviation Administration, which oversees BWI, referred questions to the FAA. A representative of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Dulles and Reagan National, did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. airspace has become the center of attention at several times during the second Trump administration. In January 2025, a midair collision between a helicopter and a passenger jet approaching Reagan National Airport killed 67 people, bringing the nation’s aging air traffic control system into focus. Then, a federal government shutdown late last year forced air traffic controllers to work without pay, leading to major flight reductions as controllers called out of work.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Monday that the SMART system will make airspace managers more precise in their decision-making, allowing them to better navigate extreme weather systems. It will also lead to fewer ground stops, he added, which will ultimately save travelers time.
SMART can also prompt airspace managers with suggested tweaks to flight paths or aircraft speeds (which they could then pass on to pilots) when, for example, several planes are scheduled to land at the same airport at the same time.
Several airline executives back using the tool. Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest Airlines, which operates the majority of flights in and out of BWI, wrote in a news release that he was “encouraged” by the system.
“It has the real potential to more efficiently manage the nation’s airspace and reduce flight delays and cancellations for our customers,” Jordan said.
Earlier this week, Gov. Wes Moore outlined a series of new proposals for regulating the artificial intelligence industry in Maryland. Other state and national leaders have introduced similar measures as calls grow to put guardrails on the rapidly-evolving technology.
Duffy said the rollout of the SMART tool will be slow, with travelers likely to see “gradual improvements” to travel times by next summer.
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