# The FAA announced on November 10 that it has expanded the use of SMART, an AI tool for advising air traffic controllers to manage congestion, across the US (Jeremy Hsu/Ars Technica) > HelixNews · Web page: https://helixnews.one/story/3650014 · All pages for agents: https://helixnews.one/llms.txt 4 outlets covering · First listed: Techmeme, Nov 13, 2026, 4:10 PM · Read it: AI summary (may contain mistakes): The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for departing flights, citing a communications outage and “extraordinary circumstances.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said it was due to a “telecommunications outage” and there was no indication of a “nefarious” act, ABC News reported; TechRadar said officials could not yet rule out a cyberattack. ABC News reported 1,000 flights canceled, and MarketWatch reported more than 10,000 delayed. ## Who's covering it In the order they published: - Nov 12, 2026, 7:12 PM: [The FAA Is Rolling Out Its AI Air Traffic Tool Nationwide]() — Gizmodo (Digital news, United States) The FAA has reassured the public and airlines that SMART only suggests routes and doesn't affect air safety. - Nov 13, 2026, 3:20 PM: [FAA expands AI advice to manage air traffic congestion across entire US airspace]() — Ars Technica (Digital news, United States) Airlines praised the AI tool, but the air traffic controllers’ union wasn’t involved. - Nov 13, 2026, 4:10 PM: [The FAA announced on November 10 that it has expanded the use of SMART, an AI tool for advising air traffic controllers to manage congestion, across the US (Jeremy Hsu/Ars Technica)]() — Techmeme (Aggregator, United States) - Nov 13, 2026, 6:00 PM: [FAA grounds all U.S. flights days after expanding its AI air traffic system]() — Scientific American (Magazine, United States) National ground stops of this kind are exceedingly rare