Transportation Secretary Duffy: AI tool SMART cut a 2.5-hour ground stop to 45 minutes

garrytan · x · 2026-10-01

At YC's Startup Industrial Base event in DC, Garry Tan interviewed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on modernizing air traffic control with AI.

Duffy described command centers where staff juggle six screens and paper flight charts, making weather and routing calls by hand.
Example of broken scheduling: an airport can land 15 planes in a 15-minute window, yet airlines schedule 32; he's handing them data to spread departures.
The DOT uses SMART, a predictive tool from small vendor Air Space Intelligence that beat the biggest incumbents; one predicted 2.5-hour ground stop needed only 45 minutes.
Responding to criticism about handing ATC to AI: "it's dumb AI, not smart AI" — controllers still make every call.
His takeaway: no breakthrough needed, just the will to accept AI augmentation over paper and copper wire.

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