Monday, April 20, 2026

FAA Accepting Bids for AI to Assist Air Traffic Controllers

The Federal Aviation Administration is working with three bidders to develop artificial intelligence software to help air traffic controllers manage flights across the nation's airspace.

Posted by lamplighter at 04:30 PM | 9 COMMENTS | permalink

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FAA quietly developing AI-enabled predictive air traffic management system theaircurrent.com/air-traffic- ... (via @willguisbond.com) #staycurrent

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-- The Air Current (@theaircurrent.com) Apr 17, 2026 at 1:15 PM

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More from the article ...

... "This software, as they look at the flight paths, won't see [potential issues] 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," Duffy said during a media event hosted by Semafor.

The program is aimed at fundamentally changing how airspace in the United States operates, The Air Current reported, and is a major part of the agency's efforts at modernization and redesign.

The FAA has mounted an effort to see how AI can improve the functionality and safety of the country's air traffic control systems, especially amid a growing shortage of controllers, at least partially because political debates that have hampered the agency's funding. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-19 02:01 PM

NOPE

#2 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-04-19 02:49 PM

@#2

Yeah, I have a difficulty in seeing a happy outcome for this development.

... on many levels.

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-20 12:18 AM

ATC already use AI to assist air traffic controllers. Ground management, conflict resolution automation, traffic flow & routing, etc.

#4 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-20 08:11 AM

I saw the video of the tesla driving through a lowered railroad crossing gate last week.

This is going to be a ginormous epic failure by stinky that will cost hundreds of people their lives.

Ground management

Like having firetrucks crossing the paths of landing airplanes?

#5 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-04-20 12:19 PM

0 for 2.

Tesla is level 2 autonomy, the driver is supposed to intervene when it's headed for the tracks.

The human ATC was intervening the entire time, the humans in the truck did not respond to radio calls.

Anyways, here's a basic introduction from NASA on the subject of AI/ML research for Air Traffic Management.

ntrs.nasa.gov

Like the comments to Lamp earlier about stock algos, we're again back to the Long Short Term Memory model for 4D deconfliction (x,y,z,time). Sequence prediction in time-series data so we know the probability of where an aircraft could be eventually.

#6 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-20 12:51 PM

And there is an under-the-radar effort to remove the FAA requirement of having two pilots per passenger plane as a "cost-saver" for the airlines.

#7 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2026-04-20 07:03 PM

"under the radar"

NASA has been working on it openly since 2012 and publishes the studies.

#8 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-04-21 10:20 AM

Meanwhile ...

FAA investigating close call at JFK Airport between 2 passenger jets
abc7ny.com

... Two passengers jets aborted their landings after pilots were told to take evasive action while landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday afternoon.

American Airlines Flight #4464 originated in Indianapolis, Indiana with the call sign, "Brickyard" and veered into the path of Air Canada Flight #554, which originated in in Toronto, Canada with the call sign "Jazz 554."

The close call happened around 2:30 p.m.

In the air traffic control audio, anti-collision alarms are heard blaring in the tower and cockpit.

Controllers told pilots in both planes to take evasive actions and both jets aborted their landings. The pilots told the controllers they were responding to the RA alarm, which is the most serious of the anti-collision warnings pilots can get.

The two planes came within 350 feet vertically and .62 miles horizontally at their closest points, according to FlightRadar24. ...


#9 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-21 09:14 PM

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