The Federal Aviation Administration was expanding the nationwide deployment of its $875 million SMART air traffic management tool when a communications outage forced a ground stop at airports across the United States on Friday, November 13. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed that officials are examining whether the system's rollout was connected to the disruption that affected the nation's air traffic control network.

Asked Friday whether the expansion of SMART was linked to the outage, Mullin responded, "We're looking at that." His statement indicated that federal officials had not ruled out a possible connection and were investigating the circumstances surrounding the communications failure.

The FAA announced Tuesday, November 10, that it was expanding SMART to airspace managed by all 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The timing drew attention after a telecommunications outage affecting those same facilities triggered the unprecedented nationwide ground stop just days later.

SMART is an air traffic management system designed to recommend alternative flight routes to help air traffic controllers avoid congestion and improve the efficiency of aircraft movements. Rather than directly replacing air traffic controllers, the tool provides recommendations intended to help them manage traffic and identify more efficient paths through increasingly crowded airspace.

The system initially debuted in the Washington, D.C., area in September. According to the FAA, SMART had helped reroute approximately 180 flights since its introduction, saving an average of 10 minutes and nearly 80 gallons of fuel per flight. The agency has presented the technology as part of its broader effort to modernize air traffic management and improve the flow of aircraft through congested portions of the national airspace.

The planned expansion to all 22 regional control centers represented a major step in bringing the technology into wider use across the United States. The FAA's $875 million investment also placed SMART among the agency's significant modernization efforts as officials work to improve the nation's aging air traffic control infrastructure.

However, the nationwide rollout coincided with a major disruption on Friday. The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop after a communications issue affected air traffic control facilities responsible for managing aircraft traveling between airports. The agency initially suspended departures across the country, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications problem affected all 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centers, while Mullin described the incident as a telecommunications outage. Mullin also said there was no indication the disruption was caused by a "nefarious attack."

More than 4,000 flights were canceled amid the outage, creating widespread disruption for passengers, airlines and airports. The ground stop also affected professional and college sports teams attempting to travel for weekend games, with organizations across the NBA, NHL and college football facing delays and uncertainty.

In an update shortly after 6 p.m. ET, the FAA said the ground stop remained in effect but that flights would be allowed to depart through coordination with the Air Traffic Control System Command Center as en route facilities recovered. The announcement permitted a limited resumption of departures without declaring the nationwide restrictions fully lifted.

Federal officials have not established that SMART caused or contributed to the communications outage. Mullin's comments indicate that investigators are examining whether the timing of the system's expansion and the technical failure are connected. The cause of the outage and the role, if any, played by the new air traffic management tool remain unresolved.