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.
Increased use of military airspace over the Christmas-New Year period helped reduce flight delays, compared with the same span in 2008, according to new data from FAA. More than 5,600 flights used military airspace that was opened to commercial flights, a 35% increase from the prior year. Christmas-New Year delays were down 34%, although reduced traffic volume was also a major factor.
FAA on Jan. 26 released its “Call to Action” final report, updating the status of various agency safety initiatives aimed at establishing a single level of safety for regional carriers and major airline partners. The FAA launched the Call to Action on Airline Safety and Pilot Training in the wake of the Continental Express/Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident last February. The NTSB’s probe had unveiled weaknesses in regional pilot training as well as hiring and pilot fatigue.
The U.K.’s air traffic control provider NATS has finished moving its Manchester operations to a new ATC center in Prestwick, marking the culmination of a major consolidation effort. More than 130 controllers and support staff have now moved from Manchester to the Prestwick center in Ayrshire, near Glasgow. Other controllers had already moved from their old operations room nearby to the new facility. Princess Anne is scheduled to officially open the Prestwick center on Feb. 5.
