Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
Modernization may be the battle cry in air traffic management these days, but a program being tested by airlines and ATM organizations shows there are still plenty of ways to improve efficiency without investing in new technology.
Swedish air traffic control provider LFV is laying the groundwork for its first operational use of a remote ATC tower, giving controllers the ability to monitor takeoffs and landings at airports hundreds of miles away. The LFV project will help prove technology that will allow ATC organizations to centralize tower services and make them more cost-effective for smaller airports. Saab, the manufacturer of the remote tower system, says it is gaining considerable interest in the product from many different countries.
As the cost to aircraft operators of fuel, delays and environmental measures continues to build, air traffic management (ATM) stands at a crossroads. Transformative technologies to increase capacity and efficiency are coming to fruition, but policy makers are still debating the framework under which new systems will operate.
