FAA head meets with airline CEOS on plan to cut flight delays

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford met with CEOs from American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, along with other carriers, to discuss the agency’s rollout of SMART—its “Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories” system—starting this month. The FAA says the software uses predictive analytics to improve flight management, beginning with rescheduling flights canceled due to bad weather. In the longer term, SMART could support broader coordination of schedules and aircraft trajectories before takeoff. The meeting comes as Bedford prepares to testify next week on the $12.5 billion air traffic control overhaul and a requested additional $10 billion. The FAA has also ordered flight reductions at Chicago O’Hare and extended similar cuts around Newark.