WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration plans to begin testing an artificial-intelligence system at the three airports serving the nation’s capital, after airline officials pressed the agency to limit the technology’s initial role in air traffic management. The system, called Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories, or SMART, is expected to provide air traffic officials with additional route options when bad weather or airport congestion threatens to disrupt flights. The FAA says the first phase will last about 90 days and will focus on testing the system’s predictions and building confidence among airlines and controllers. SMART will not initially create new procedures for air traffic controllers or require airlines to overhaul their scheduling systems, according to people familiar with the agency’s plans. Instead, it will generate possible alternate routes and send those recommendations through the FAA’s existing command centers and communication systems. The three airports involved in the initial test are Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The system is expected to be particularly useful when traffic backs up around the region’s airports, giving the FAA more options to move aircraft through crowded airspace. Airline officials spent weeks seeking clarity about whether controllers would directly operate the system, whether carriers would need employee training and whether airlines could decline to use its recommendations. Several officials said the FAA’s earlier descriptions were broad enough to raise concerns that the software could prompt more cancellations or schedule changes in an effort to prevent larger bottlenecks. They did not say the technology posed a safety risk. Those concerns eased after a Sept. 10 meeting between FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford and chief executives from several major airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines. One airline official described the executives’ response as exceptionally favorable and supportive, while others said the meeting clarified that the initial deployment would be deliberately narrow. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has promoted SMART as part of a broader effort to modernize the country’s aging air traffic control system. The program is included in a 12-year, $875 million contract awarded to Air Space Intelligence, a Boston-based software company. “Instead of waiting for congestion or weather to cause delays, SMART helps us see problems coming and act before they do,” FAA spokesperson Hannah Walden said in a statement. She said the agency was taking a “slow, methodical approach” and had involved airlines from the beginning. Bedford has said the system will use predictive analytics to assess where weather is heading, rather than relying only on current conditions. That could help the FAA reopen or redirect airspace sooner when conditions are expected to improve, he said, while maintaining safety controls. The technology is being introduced as federal officials pursue a wider overhaul of air traffic operations following several high-profile aviation accidents, including the deadly midair collision over Washington in January 2025 and a fatal runway crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in March. Airline executives have expressed cautious support. United CEO Scott Kirby said the system could reduce delays and cancellations during severe weather if it performs as expected. American CEO Robert Isom said a thoughtful, methodical rollout could benefit travelers, while Delta said it fully supports the FAA’s modernization effort and remains involved in SMART’s development. The test will help determine whether the system’s recommendations are accurate enough for airlines and federal officials to rely on—and whether the promised improvements in capacity and reliability can be delivered without shifting new costs and uncertainty onto passengers.