AIRLINES GROUNDED? See bottom of page for more info
=====================================================================
KLM may ground some aircraft on Jan 1, 2000
AMSTERDAM, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Dutch airline KLM (KLM.AS) said on Friday it may ground some of its aircraft on January 1, 2000 if certain routes turn out to be unsafe due to millennium bugs.
KLM also said it would host a conference next year as part of a campaign to share information with competitors and inform the public.
''If we have the feeling by the year 2000 that we don't control the whole chain of transport...then we won't fly that route,'' spokesman Hugo Baas told Reuters. ''Regarding safety, there's no risk we are taking. It could result in aircraft being grounded.''
But it was unlikely that the whole fleet would be left on the ground, Baas said. The firm has already modified one of its main computer systems and is making good progress with its millennium compliance programme.
But due to the complex web of interlinking computer systems, such as air traffic control and radar systems, the carrier has to be sure that there are no weak links.
Computer systems which have not been modified will fail at midnight on December 31, 1999 because software produced mainly in the 1970s and 1980s will not be able to handle the transition to the year 2000.
Programmers used two-digit abbreviations for years instead of the full four digits. The year 2000 will throw old programmes into confusion, being read as 1900.
KLM sees itself as a leader in the field of millennium compliance and has adopted an open-door policy. It seeks to share expertise it has already gleaned with competitors.
''We are not talking about an airline problem, or an industry problem, all of society could be affected,'' said Baas.
No date has been set for the millennium conference to be hosted by KLM, but it will probably take place in the second half of 1998.
-- Amsterdam newsroom +31 20 504 5000
Fax +31 20 504 5040
By Eric Onstad
Friday November 7 10:38 AM EST
SAFETY ISSUE EXAMPLES: Embedded Systems. Wanna know where they are?
- Air control
- Avionics
- Cabin systems
- Electrical
- Flight systems
- Mechanical/hydraulic & propulsion
CK SIDEBAR: Luftansa also announce a couple of months ago that some of their planes won't be flying ...... KLM? Hmmmmm. Northwest & KLM, some kinda partners, huh? Wonder when we're gonna hear from Northwest?
Wanna know WHY embedded systems are a potential Y2K safety hazard?
http://.techstocks.com/~wsapi/investor/s-17107/reply-125 |
