FAA Administrator: SMART platform is not intended to 'nationalise' airline schedules
US FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated (20-Oct-2026) the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories (SMART) AI platform is not intended to "nationalise" airline schedules, noting the tool will instead be used to optimise carriers' use of the National Airspace System. Mr Bedford noted the FAA will use the platform to "provide recommendations to the airlines on their own schedules and to reduce the number of conflicts". As previously reported by CAPA, the US Department of Transportation and the FAA announced the SMART platform in Sep-2026 which centralises 200 data streams such as weather patterns, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing metrics into one platform. [more - Aviation Week]
Background ✨
US DoT Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said SMART centralised 200 data streams and was expected to cut delays/cancellations, improve predictability and lower fares, with a staged rollout beginning in the National Capital Region and limited-mode use around Washington DC.1