FAA Developing AI System to Predict Air Traffic Hours to Months Ahead

The Federal Aviation Administration is developing an AI-powered air traffic control system called SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories) that can predict airspace conditions and potential traffic conflicts hours to months in advance. According to Flying Magazine, this technology represents a fundamental shift from reactive to proactive traffic management by forecasting weather, traffic and operational conditions up to six months before operation.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the system will manage trajectories for 55,000 daily IFR flights, allowing controllers to focus on exceptions rather than routine traffic management. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted controllers could receive notices to change flight paths an hour and a half or two hours before a conflict occurs. Three companies including Palantir Technologies and Thales are competing for the initiative, which could be operational as early as late 2026.

SMART is part of the FAA's larger Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) modernization effort to address forecasts of increased air traffic. The agency has received $12.5 billion from Congress for modernization work, though additional funding remains necessary according to AVweb. Frank Matus of Thales said the system aims to make delays "a thing of the past" and add more predictability to the system.