WSJ Tech News Briefing · Thursday, September 17, 2026
Federal Aviation Administration officials are set to launch an AI-powered air traffic management tool named Smart in Washington D.C. as early as Monday. This software, developed by Airspace Intelligence, aims to reduce flight delays and cancellations by analyzing various factors to predict and prevent traffic disruptions. The FAA expects a nationwide rollout of the system after this initial pilot.
“Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, September 17th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. We exclusively report that Federal Aviation officials are preparing to launch an AI powered air traffic tool in Washington DC as soon as Monday.”
“The software, known as Smart, will help the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines reduce delays and cancellations and find routes for flights when there are air traffic disruptions.”
“Developed by airspace intelligence under a 12 year and $875 million contract, the software has the ability to analyze airline schedules, weather, runway capacity, and operational constraints to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur.”