House lawmakers ask FAA to pause AI airspace tool at Washington airports

A group of House lawmakers is asking the FAA to stop using a new artificial-intelligence-assisted air traffic management system at three airports in the Washington area while the safety questions around it are examined. The request was made in a letter dated Oct. 9 to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., led the group. The lawmakers want details on how the system, called Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories, or SMART, was tested, how controllers were trained for it, and how it was put in place at Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore/Washington International. They also asked whether safety staff and airport authorities were consulted before it went into service.

The letter seeks disclosure of safety evaluations, including how SMART would behave in severe weather or when equipment fails. In a statement the same day, McClain Delaney said the rollout should be paused, the safety testing shown, and accountability explained for when something goes wrong.

SMART began limited operations on Sept. 21. According to the Transportation Department, it draws on roughly 200 data streams covering weather, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing in order to spot congestion before it causes disruption. The agency says the system gives scheduling recommendations to FAA personnel, who decide whether to act on them. SMART does not control aircraft and does not replace controllers.

Air Space Intelligence is developing the system under a wider FAA contract for air traffic management software. The FAA intends to expand SMART beyond the Washington area in stages. Lawmakers are asking for information on the initial 90-day evaluation, the standards that must be met before any further deployment, and how responsibility would be assigned.