More than two dozen US lawmakers have urged the Federal Aviation Administration to pause limited operations of its AI-supported SMART air-traffic management tool at three Washington-area airports until the agency provides information on safety testing, implementation, training and oversight. The system, developed with Air Space Intelligence, began operating on 21 September at Reagan National, Dulles and Baltimore/Washington International airports.
The request was led by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, April McClain Delaney, Don Beyer, Kweisi Mfume, Suhas Subramanyam and Sarah Elfreth in a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. Lawmakers said they had not received safety evaluation or testing reports and had not been informed of adequate preparations to train aviation safety personnel before deployment.
Their questions cover SMART’s performance during severe weather and equipment outages, consultation with controllers and airport authorities, the initial 90-day evaluation and the criteria for any wider rollout. They also want clarity on accountability if a system recommendation contributes to a safety incident.
SMART processes about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths, traffic demand, airport capacity and controller staffing, to forecast congestion and recommend scheduling or traffic-management adjustments. FAA personnel review its recommendations, and local air-traffic-control leaders can accept or reject them; the system does not control aircraft or replace controllers. The FAA has planned a gradual expansion beyond the Washington region, but the congressional request is not a binding suspension order and no pause has been confirmed.