Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Thursday, September 24, 2026

Airline industry officials have finally stopped panicking about the Federal Aviation Administration's soon-to-launch artificial intelligence tool for managing flights and easing congestion in air travel, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

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... Weeks of industry confusion over the FAA's vague description of its much-hyped plans eased in the past week when agency officials told them they would use the tool in just a limited way at first, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.

The tool, dubbed Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories, or SMART, is set to debut in coming days, offering advice to air traffic controllers managing flights for the three airports that serve the nation's capital, according to two industry officials. The hope, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, is that after a 90-day testing period the tool will be rolled out on a wider scale.

Before the FAA eased the airlines officials' concerns, one of their biggest worries was how extensively the AI would be integrated into day-to-day air traffic management, one of the industry people said. "I think that's what people were freaking out about," the person said.

Instead, according to another industry official, the SMART tool is not expected to create any new procedures for air traffic controllers or for the airlines. It will simply generate alternative route information that is passed through the FAA's existing systems and procedures. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-24 08:39 PM | Reply

OK, when I see Pres Trump's FAA using AI and airlines in the same paragraph, that raises a major concern for me.

AI currently seems to not be under control of humans, and now Pres Trump's FAA wants AI to control the airlines?

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-24 08:41 PM | Reply

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