The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on November 10 that its Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories (SMART) system is now active in all 22 air route traffic control centers nationwide. The cloud-based platform, developed under an $875 million contract with Air Space Intelligence, integrates approximately 200 data streams, including weather conditions, flight paths, traffic volumes, and controller staffing information. SMART's purpose is to identify potential congestion before it develops and provide scheduling recommendations to mitigate delays and reduce fuel consumption.Additionally, the nationwide rollout follows an initial deployment in the Washington D.C. area in September. Since its launch on September 21, the FAA reports that SMART has helped reroute 180 flights, saving an average of 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford have championed the system, with United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stating that SMART could "do more to reduce delays and cancellations than anything that's happened in decades" if it performs as expected. Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers, has also expressed support for the initiative, citing its potential to make air traffic more efficient.Despite airline praise, the expansion has drawn criticism from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and a group of federal lawmakers. NATCA stated in September that it had not been involved in SMART's design, testing, or implementation, and therefore could not comment on its effect on the air traffic control workforce. In October, more than two dozen lawmakers sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Duffy and FAA Administrator Bedford, urging them to suspend the system's initial rollout. The lawmakers expressed concerns regarding the system's safety evaluations, personnel training, and oversight, requesting details about its 90-day evaluation period and the standards required for nationwide deployment. They highlighted that air traffic control decisions are "literally a matter of life or death" and questioned the FAA's decision to introduce the technology without making its safety assessments and operational safeguards clear.The FAA maintains that SMART is not intended to replace human air traffic controllers. Instead, it provides predictive insights and recommendations, with controllers retaining ultimate responsibility for aircraft separation and local management determining whether to implement the suggestions. The agency emphasizes that the system aims to transform airspace planning from a reactive approach to a predictive one, using data to anticipate demand, weather, and airspace constraints. The $875 million contract with Air Space Intelligence is part of a broader $12.5 billion push to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system. The FAA anticipates that SMART will be fully deployed nationwide by the end of 2028.