The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has been working closely with a set of partners in order to develop an artificial intelligence-powered software tool for air traffic management. Once completed, the software could mean a huge overhaul of the airspace system in the U.S., but will it replace air traffic controllers?
In 2025, Congress endowed the U.S. Department of Transportation with a $12.5 billion budget in order to upgrade the air traffic control system. Those upgrades include the replacement of copper wires, new surface awareness systems, and transitioning 17 towers to electronic flight strips in order to replace paper slips.
However, yet another upgrade is scheduled to go through, one that could heavily impact the functioning of air traffic control in the U.S. The so-called Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART) is an artificial intelligence-powered software tool that is being developed at the time of writing under the supervision of Administrator Bryan Bedford, who calls it a central pillar of the Federal Aviation Administration modernisation. Three companies have been selected to compete on the initiative: Palantir, Thales, and Airspace Intelligence (ASI).
There is no project too big for AMERICA! 🇺🇸
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 21, 2026
That is why the Trump Administration is MODERNIZING air traffic control like never before ✈️ pic.twitter.com/5r5SdoVt5Z
“We have three companies right now that are working with us on developing software to look at even how flights are managed. This software, as they look at the flight paths, won’t see [potential conflicts] 15 minutes before it happens … a controller will get a notice that they could change one of the airplane’s flight paths slightly and they can deconflict it an hour and a half or two hours before the conflict even happens,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on 17 April 2026 at a Semafor event.
AI won’t replace humans
Following the statement, many feared that such an AI tool could mean the replacement of air traffic controllers in the near future, as a first version of SMART is expected to be rolled out in 2027. However, in an interview with CBS News, Duffy denied those rumours.
“AI is a tool, but we do not replace humans in how we manage the airspace. Am I gonna replace a controller and have AI manage the airspace? The answer to that is hell no, that’s not gonna happen,” Duffy said.
According to the Transportation Secretary, SMART will instead help air traffic controllers identify scheduling issues ahead of time by merging airline flight schedules with an FAA system, allowing them to move flights around in order to avoid delays. AI should thus mainly serve as a tool, an extra safeguard, leaving less room for human error.
“We have human beings navigating, managing the airspace, and as human beings, we can make mistakes. That’s why I want to give additional tools to support the air traffic controllers,” Duffy concluded.
HOLY SMOKES — LOOK AT THIS 🤯
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 21, 2026
OLD VS. NEW
Paper flight strips had their time.
But in modern air traffic control towers, PAPER HANDOFFS just don’t cut it anymore ❌🖨️
We’re replacing outdated paper strips with smarter electronic flight strips — cutting down manual handoffs in… pic.twitter.com/pMTIowWDK1
Duffy’s statements seem to be supported by the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration has accelerated hiring within its air traffic controller workforce. Since last March, nearly 2,400 new controllers have been recruited. With 11,000 certified controllers and 4,000 trained, staffing is at its highest level in six years. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 20% more controllers were hired in 2025 compared with 2024 and over five months were gained during the time-to-hire process for controller applicants.
