The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has begun operating a new artificial intelligence tool designed to identify congestion before it disrupts operations, starting with a limited deployment in the airspace around Washington.

The system, known as SMART, entered what the Transportation Department called "limited mode" service on Monday. The department plans a gradual expansion to other regions of the National Airspace System.

SMART synthesizes 200 separate data streams — weather patterns, flight paths, and controller staffing metrics among them — to pinpoint areas where congestion or weather could disrupt travel. The tool then generates recommendations aimed at resolving those problems before they cascade into delays and cancellations.

The system does not act autonomously. Every SMART recommendation is reviewed by FAA staff, and local leadership at each air traffic control facility retains discretion to accept or reject the guidance, according to the Transportation Department.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy framed the deployment in operational and consumer terms. "SMART will slash those frustrating delays, reduce stress on air traffic controllers, and lower travel prices," Duffy said in a statement.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters at a briefing Monday that the agency will coordinate with airlines on any changes to flight paths that result from the tool's use. Airline reaction has not been uniformly enthusiastic: carriers initially raised concerns about the pace of the FAA's rollout, Bedford said, but grew more comfortable after seeing demonstrations of the tool a few weeks ago. He added that the gradual deployment is intended to ensure that controllers, airlines and FAA leadership all understand the new capability before it scales nationally.

The contract behind the system went not to an established defense prime but to a startup. The FAA in June selected Air Space Intelligence Inc. to deploy SMART. ASI beat out Palantir Technologies Inc. and Thales SA for the work — a notable competitive outcome given the scale of the FAA's modernization program and the incumbents' positions in government data analytics.

SMART forms one component of a broader FAA effort to overhaul an air traffic control infrastructure that has struggled with reliability. Congress has appropriated $12.5 billion for the modernization effort so far, but the agency has said it will need additional funding to complete the overhaul.

The timing of the rollout underscores the stakes. On the same day the FAA activated SMART around Washington, air travel into the New York area was severely disrupted by an equipment outage at an air traffic facility in Philadelphia — an incident officials cited as evidence of the system's aging infrastructure and the urgency of the replacement program.

For airlines, the practical test of SMART will come in how quickly its congestion forecasts translate into actionable traffic management decisions, and whether the recommendations hold up against the operational realities of hub scheduling. For the FAA, the Washington deployment serves as the proving ground for a technology the agency intends to scale across the national system, with carrier buy-in and future congressional funding both hanging on the results.