DHS looks at possible role of FAA's new AI traffic tool in nationwide ground stop

The US Department of Homeland Security is examining whether the Federal Aviation Administration's new AI traffic planning tool played any role in Friday's nationwide ground stop, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters, GeekWire reports. Asked about a possible link, Mullin said, "We're looking at that," adding that DHS was examining it through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. "You just can't rule out anything at this point," he said.

The FAA halted departures across the US on Friday after what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called "a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers." More than 11,000 US flights were delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware figures cited by The Guardian. Mullin described a telecommunications outage whose cause is not yet known and said there was no indication of a malicious attack. He saw no connection to the Microsoft 365 outage that began a day earlier.

The FAA said on Tuesday it was expanding the system, called SMART, to all 22 of its en route air traffic control centers. The cloud-based tool pulls in about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths and controller staffing, to recommend flight schedules and routes, which FAA specialists review. It is part of a 12-year, $875 million contract with Boston-based Air Space Intelligence. Lawmakers asked the FAA in October to pause its use in the Washington area.

Air Space Intelligence denied any connection. "The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC," the company said on X.

When a reporter asked whether the problem could be AI related, Mullin first replied, "We call it SI around here," a reference to President Trump's preferred term, "super intelligence." California Governor Gavin Newsom criticised the administration for "correcting reporters on AI's 'preferred name'" while travellers were stranded.