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16 hours ago
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Pilots argue that a lone person at the controls could be overwhelmed in an emergency, and that computers aren’t failsafe — even those driven by AI. After all, at least 50% of all generative AI projects fail due to poor data, inadequate controls, rising costs or unclear benefits, researcher Gartner said in January.
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“You need the human component there,” said Mike Nakornkhet, San Francisco International Airport’s chief executive officer. “We need to introduce technology, to introduce AI, to find a way to assist a role a controller may have.”
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An International Civil Aviation Organization working paper last year warned of the possible risks associated with integrating AI into commercial operations. Advanced automation, the paper said, can lead to “over-reliance on systems and lack of attention in emergency situations.”
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The risk of AI becoming so good at certain tasks that humans lose key skill sets has been warned about in sectors like health care, where the use of cancer-detecting AI technology has stoked fears of human doctors becoming unable to diagnose problems without it.
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But ICAO, which sets the standards for global aviation, said in the working paper it also recognizes the benefits of AI in a range of areas including air-traffic management, plane maintenance and safety.
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“Technology would lessen the risk without a doubt,” Torbjorn Karlsson, senior client partner at Korn Ferry and a former aviation executive, said citing the aviation industry’s know-how to apply technology and improve safety. “AI, it could be a step change, as a solution to our problems.”
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Older airports with legacy systems often have more difficulty adopting cutting-edge technologies. And in the US, airport functions are split up among the FAA, facility administrators and individual airlines, so there’s no single authority to easily push through complex, costly or controversial makeovers.
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That contrasts with countries such as China, which has newer airports, bigger infrastructure budgets and more centralized control over aviation operations.
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“In much of Asia, especially China, technology in aviation is treated as an instrument of state capacity and national competitiveness, whereas in many Western markets it is treated as one policy priority among many, competing for funding, regulatory approval and political attention,” said Linus Benjamin Bauer, founder of aviation advisory firm BAA & Partners.
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The FAA, which is responsible for air traffic control in the US, has long struggled to obtain funding needed for system upgrades.
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Washington lawmakers allocated $12.5 billion last year to carry out an air traffic control modernization project, including upgrading air field telecommunications systems by replacing old copper wire with modern fiber-optic cables. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about 30% of the lines have been replaced, but $20 billion more is still needed for the overhaul.
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AI Efficiencies
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Beyond safety, airlines are increasingly using AI to squeeze out greater efficiencies. Take Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. It developed an AI program that was first deployed in 2025 when Super Typhoon Ragasa barreled into southern China late last year.
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That disruption management system crunches millions of options to redeploy its fleet and figure out which aircraft and passengers to prioritize.
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It takes into account things like airport curfews, passenger compensation and hotel accommodation costs, available crew and delays to freight, and like most AI tools, it gets smarter each time it’s used.
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