# Newsletter — AI in aviation

Deepsky's newsletter on AI in aviation, written by Samuel Chandra (A320 Captain, founder of Deepsky). Issues are readable on this site; new issues are also published on Substack.

- **Subscribe:** [https://deepsky294.substack.com/subscribe](https://deepsky294.substack.com/subscribe)
- **HTML archive:** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter)

## Archive

- [AI takes the bag lane 🛄, humans kept honest by dice roll 🎲](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-takes-the-bag-lane-humans-kept) — 2026-07-12
  - The Deepsky Industry Update
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-takes-the-bag-lane-humans-kept.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-takes-the-bag-lane-humans-kept.md)
- [Agent autonomy meets EASA 📐, AI not terminals to lift capacity 🛫](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agent-autonomy-meets-easa-ai-not) — 2026-07-08
  - The Deepsky Industry Update
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agent-autonomy-meets-easa-ai-not.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agent-autonomy-meets-easa-ai-not.md)
- [Jeppesen enters the arena](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/jeppesen-enters-the-arena) — 2026-07-05
  - The Deepsky Industry Update
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/jeppesen-enters-the-arena.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/jeppesen-enters-the-arena.md)
- [Command chain becomes code](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/command-chain-becomes-code) — 2026-07-02
  - The deepsky industry update - special military edition
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/command-chain-becomes-code.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/command-chain-becomes-code.md)
- [The FAA Just Picked Its AI for the Airspace](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-faa-just-picked-its-ai-for-the) — 2026-06-30
  - This is another catch up edition, and the theme is the airspace itself: air traffic control, the regulators deciding what AI is allowed to fly, and the companies quietly being handed the keys.
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-faa-just-picked-its-ai-for-the.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-faa-just-picked-its-ai-for-the.md)
- [LLMs for Ground Delay Programs, AI Pilot Training](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/llms-for-ground-delay-programs-ai) — 2026-04-22
  - Hi, here's my take on todays news - which represents the second slice of the last week of AI in Aviation happenings around the world:
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/llms-for-ground-delay-programs-ai.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/llms-for-ground-delay-programs-ai.md)
- [Secret FAA Program, Humanoids Cross a Threshold](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/secret-faa-program-humanoids-cross) — 2026-04-21
  - Two stories this week are genuinely historic, and I want to flag both up front before anything else. Physical Intelligence released Pi 0.7, which is the starting gun for physical AI in robotics. And the FAA is quietly building SMART, an AI system to de-conf…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/secret-faa-program-humanoids-cross.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/secret-faa-program-humanoids-cross.md)
- [AI Copilots, Agentic everything platforms](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-copilots-agentic-everything-platforms) — 2026-04-18
  - The main story today is Beacon AI has signed a $49.5M contract with the USAF’s Special Operations Command. They are one of a handful of companies that have successfully secured a highly contested spot in the cockpit. Over the past couple of years, there hav…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-copilots-agentic-everything-platforms.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-copilots-agentic-everything-platforms.md)
- [Autonomous cargo ops gets approval in the US](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/autonomous-cargo-ops-gets-approval) — 2026-04-11
  - The FAA letting autonomous aircraft fly commercial routes before full certification is a big deal — and it's not just a regulatory experiment. Reliable Robotics is about to operate real cargo flights on real routes on Cessna Caravans with no pilot on board.…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/autonomous-cargo-ops-gets-approval.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/autonomous-cargo-ops-gets-approval.md)
- [Prompt and Destroy & Delta CEO on AI in ATC](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/prompt-and-destroy-and-delta-ceo) — 2026-04-08
  - Hi, it's Sam Chandra here, Founder and CEO of Deepsky. Delta's CEO said ATC was the biggest opportunity for AI in aviation, something I've been saying for years. And he's 100% right. If we can optimise air traffic control we have huge cost, time and emissio…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/prompt-and-destroy-and-delta-ceo.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/prompt-and-destroy-and-delta-ceo.md)
- [How to Become Indispensable in Aviation in 2026](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/how-to-become-indispensable-in-aviation) — 2026-04-03
  - The massive AI-aviation knowledge gap - and why it’s your opportunity
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/how-to-become-indispensable-in-aviation.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/how-to-become-indispensable-in-aviation.md)
- [Europe Draws the Line on AI in Aviation](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/europe-draws-the-line-on-ai-in-aviation) — 2026-04-02
  - EASA’s NPA 2025-07 is worth paying attention to. This is no longer guidance - it’s draft regulation, and that’s a meaningful shift. They’ve expanded coverage to all aviation domains and interestingly address using AI to build or test AI-based systems. The d…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/europe-draws-the-line-on-ai-in-aviation.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/europe-draws-the-line-on-ai-in-aviation.md)
- ['AI at birth' cargo company signals a new era for Aviation](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-at-birth-cargo-company-signals) — 2026-03-29
  - Hi - it’s Sam Chandra, CEO/Founder of Deepsky and author of this newsletter. Here’s my take on todays AI in Aviation news:
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-at-birth-cargo-company-signals.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-at-birth-cargo-company-signals.md)
- [Your Flight App Just Got Pilot-Grade Intelligence](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/your-flight-app-just-got-pilot-grade) — 2026-03-27
  - The Flighty use of NOTAMs and weather is definitely something I’ve tried as a side project, but never had enough time to see it through. IAG asking for disruption management is no surprise - it pretty much is (and has been for a while) the grand prize of pr…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/your-flight-app-just-got-pilot-grade.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/your-flight-app-just-got-pilot-grade.md)
- [AI Learns to Debrief Pilots + 4 other AI/aviation headlines](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-learns-to-debrief-pilots-4-other) — 2026-03-25
  - Navi AI just raised $6M to scale AI-powered flight training — I’ve met both cofounders and they’re building something pretty special. The Saab-Cohere partnership caught my eye too; we’ve seen airlines partner with big AI companies before, but a manufacturer…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-learns-to-debrief-pilots-4-other.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-learns-to-debrief-pilots-4-other.md)
- [AI Passes the ATC Exam — And It's About to Go Live](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-passes-the-atc-exam-and-its-about) — 2026-03-23
  - This week, an AI agent passed three of four human controller competencies in UK airspace, while autonomous combat software went from lab to live flight in a single day. Meanwhile, agentic AI is reading aircraft maintenance records faster than any human team…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-passes-the-atc-exam-and-its-about.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-passes-the-atc-exam-and-its-about.md)
- [The Autonomous Black Hawk Has Landed](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-autonomous-black-hawk-has-landed) — 2026-03-22
  - Merlin - a company that retrofits existing transport aircraft with autonomous AI pilots just went public at an $800M valuation, the U.S. Army took delivery of its first autonomous helicopter, and Bordeaux Airport figured out how to track passenger flows wit…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-autonomous-black-hawk-has-landed.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/the-autonomous-black-hawk-has-landed.md)
- [AI Clears the Skies: American Airlines and Google Cut Contrails 62%](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-clears-the-skies-american-airlines) — 2026-03-20
  - From AI-guided contrail avoidance over the Atlantic to autonomous drone swarms learning pursuit logic in Japan, this week's updates show AI moving from concept to cockpit — with the industry now grappling with how to govern it all.
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-clears-the-skies-american-airlines.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-clears-the-skies-american-airlines.md)
- [AI Finds 15,000 Hidden Near-Misses — FAA Rewrites the Rules](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-finds-15000-hidden-near-misses) — 2026-03-19
  - An AI-powered sweep of radar data has exposed thousands of unreported helicopter close calls at major airports, prompting the FAA to scrap visual separation rules overnight. Meanwhile, the MRO sector braces for a maintenance supercycle as digital twins and…
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-finds-15000-hidden-near-misses.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/ai-finds-15000-hidden-near-misses.md)
- [Agentic AI Hits the Ramp as Aviation Ops Go All-In](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agentic-ai-hits-the-ramp-as-aviation) — 2026-03-18
  - Suddenly, everyone is talking about AI, and the startups (like us) that have been knocking on the door of large enterprises for years are having those doors opened wide.
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agentic-ai-hits-the-ramp-as-aviation.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/agentic-ai-hits-the-ramp-as-aviation.md)
- [Airports to Airframes: AI Deployment Broadens Across Aviation](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/airports-to-airframes-ai-deployment) — 2026-02-26
  - *Date (UTC): 2026-02-25*
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/airports-to-airframes-ai-deployment.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/airports-to-airframes-ai-deployment.md)
- [From Combat ID to Gate Ops: Aviation AI Deployment Speeds Up](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/from-combat-id-to-gate-ops-aviation) — 2026-02-25
  - AI-in-aviation execution accelerated today across defense, airport operations, maintenance intelligence, and customer service, with multiple programs signaling production deployment rather than pilot-phase experimentation.
  - **Full text (Markdown):** [https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/from-combat-id-to-gate-ops-aviation.md](https://www.deepskyai.com/newsletter/from-combat-id-to-gate-ops-aviation.md)
- [deepsky industry update — last 7 days of AI in Aviation](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/deepsky-industry-update-last-7-days) — 2026-02-23
  - Over the past week, AI in aviation has moved from interesting pilots to practical rollout: airports are tightening day-of-ops coordination with smarter data layers, airlines are pairing AI-native commercial tools with execution.
- [AI Aviation This Cycle: Anthropic's Air India Move Leads, While Ops Adoption Deepens](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/ai-aviation-this-cycle-anthropics) — 2026-02-17
  - Anthropic's India expansion reportedly includes partnerships with Air India and Cognizant, marking a significant commercialization step where a frontier AI provider is being positioned directly inside large-scale airline workflows.
- [AI Takes the Controls: From Taxi Fuel to Autonomous Combat Flight](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/ai-takes-the-controls-from-taxi-fuel) — 2026-02-15
  - AI in aviation is moving from pilot projects into day-to-day execution, with tangible deployment across fuel, maintenance, and autonomy. The commercial side is also evolving quickly, but with rising regulatory pressure around AI pricing.
- [AI in Aviation — past two weeks](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/ai-in-aviation-past-two-weeks) — 2025-09-18
  - EASA's AI days and ethics of AI in Aviation, Starlux AI ground ops, AI pilot assessment with iPhone recordings, American mulling AI to price tickets, AI in aircraft design, and Australian AI awards.
- [AI in Aviation last three days](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/ai-in-aviation-last-three-days) — 2025-09-04
  - Joby flies 'superpilot' in a Cessna Caravan, Embry Riddle applies voice understanding tech to ATC chat, Gen AI for aviation risk assessments, AI eye tracking in ATC simulators, Qatar Airways does AI.
- [Work in Aviation? The second thing you should know](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/work-in-aviation-the-second-thing) — 2025-09-01
  - Understand what you are trying to achieve. Use AI to do things that you can check and can actually multiply your efforts — aviation requires reliability and efficiency.
- [AI in Aviation, last 5 days, what did you miss](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/ai-in-aviation-last-5-days-what-did) — 2025-08-31
  - US majors using AI to reduce disruptions, DEFCON on AI voice cloning in rogue ATC communication, Qantas does AI, single pilot ops shelved, Shield AI flies unmanned helicopter autonomously.
- [If you work in aviation, know this about AI](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/if-you-work-in-aviation-know-this) — 2025-08-31
  - AI is more human-like than normal software — it presents new risks and opportunities. Treat AI-powered software more like a human when introducing it into aviation operations.
- [The deepsky newsletter](https://deepsky294.substack.com/p/the-deepsky-newsletter) — 2025-08-30
  - Our AI in Aviation journey started 5 years ago. Yours starts today. I'm Samuel Chandra, an A320 Captain who published a podcast on the intersection of AI and Aviation back in 2020/21.