The FAA was expanding use of its $875 million AI tool, SMART, to airspace managed by all 22 regional control centers when a communications outage halted U.S. departures Friday. The FAA announced the nationwide rollout on Tuesday, November 10.
SMART recommends routes to help controllers avoid congestion. Since its September debut in the Washington area, the tool had helped reroute 180 flights, saving an average of 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight, the FAA said.
NOW - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary briefed reporters on the nationwide ground stop.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) November 13, 2026
Reporter: "There are reports that the FAA was rolling out a new AI traffic control system today. Has there been any link between that rollout?"
Secretary: "We're looking at that." pic.twitter.com/KDzSBkXWKu
Asked Friday whether the rollout was linked to the outage, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin replied, "We're looking at that."
