FAA’s New Air-Traffic Software Is Due for Initial Operations This Fall

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded Air Space Intelligence a contract on June 22, 2026, for two linked software systems intended to improve how flights are planned and managed across the United States.

The systems are Flow Management Data and Services, or FMDS, and Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories, or SMART. The FAA says initial operations using the new software are planned for fall 2026.

The practical goal is to identify congestion, weather conflicts and capacity problems before aircraft depart, giving the FAA, airlines and other operators more time to adjust routes, schedules and departure times. The expected benefits have not yet been independently measured because the new operations have not begun.

How FMDS and SMART fit together

FMDS is intended to become the data and traffic-management backbone for the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center. The FAA says it will replace a decades-old system and analyze flight plans, airline schedules and real-time position updates to estimate current and anticipated traffic flows and capacity limits across the National Airspace System.

The command center balances national traffic demand with available capacity and coordinates with air-route centers, terminal facilities, airport towers and aviation-industry partners. The FAA says it coordinates up to 50,000 U.S. flights per day, although its command-center overview was last updated January 4, 2024.

SMART is described as a planning layer within FMDS. It will use shared information about airline schedules, weather, airport capacity, airspace conditions and other operational constraints to predict traffic flows and identify potential conflicts before they occur.

In that structure, the two systems are complementary rather than unrelated projects: FMDS provides the broader data foundation, while SMART is intended to use that information for predictive planning and recommendations.

What problem the FAA is trying to solve

The FAA already uses tools such as reroutes, ground-delay programs and ground stops to manage weather, runway closures, equipment outages and other disruptions. The agency says, however, that important information about weather, airport capacity and flight demand is spread across different systems and may be viewed on different planning timelines.

The FAA’s SMART fact sheet says some operational conflicts may not become apparent until flights are at the gate, taxiing or already airborne. By then, a problem at one airport or in one region can spread through connecting flights and constrained airspace.

SMART is intended to create a shared, real-time view for the FAA, airlines and other operators. As conditions change, it is designed to update forecasts and planning recommendations. FMDS is also intended to support more localized rerouting around severe weather rather than relying only on broader systemwide responses.

What travelers could notice

If the systems work as intended, travelers could eventually see fewer avoidable delays, more predictable departure times and faster recovery after some weather or congestion events. Airlines could receive earlier information about routes and available capacity, allowing them to adjust schedules before aircraft push back.

Those are projected benefits, not verified results. The FAA and Transportation Department have described the systems as tools that are expected to reduce delays, improve traffic flow and increase usable airspace capacity, but no independent performance data are available yet.

The fall 2026 target refers to initial operations. It does not establish that the software will be fully deployed nationwide or that travelers will immediately see changes in airline apps, airport procedures or delay guarantees.

What the software will not do

SMART is not intended to replace air-traffic controllers. The FAA fact sheet says controllers remain responsible for keeping aircraft safely separated. SMART is designed to support planning, situational awareness and operational decision-making alongside existing FAA systems.

The software also cannot eliminate delays caused by severe storms, runway closures, equipment failures or hard limits on airport and airspace capacity. Its intended value is earlier coordination: identifying conflicts while there is still time and room to respond.

What to watch after launch

The key test will come after initial operations begin. Independent measurements will be needed to determine whether the systems improve on-time performance, reduce cancellations and fuel burn, shorten recovery from disruptions or make more airspace capacity usable.

For now, the June 22 contract is a concrete step in the FAA’s broader modernization effort. The public-facing change, if the system performs as intended, would be a shift from reacting to some congestion after it develops toward planning more of the national flight schedule before departure.

Sources

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