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To: biffpincus who wrote (25724)	12/22/1998 8:31:00 AM
From: Rob L.	Respond to of 31646

I wonder who they are using to fix this problem? Airports try to head off millennium bug specter By Suzanne Perry BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The British airport operator BAA Plc recently did some experiments to learn how the 2000 computer bug might strike. One involved turning the clock forward and putting a baggage-handling system to work. The result? ''It failed to recognize the bags and sent all the bags down the 'mis-sort' chute,'' said Jim Brophy, BAA's Year 2000 program director. In other experiments, smart cards used to control airport access did not work with 21st century dates and a control board failed to recognize fire alarm signals, Brophy told reporters. Like many other industries, the air travel sector is scrambling to head off dire consequences from the looming millennium bug -- the inability of computers to process dates after December 31, 1999 because they are programmed to read only the last two digits of a year. Much of the attention has focused on air safety, with doomsday scenarios of planes falling out of the sky as air traffic control or flight management systems malfunction. But with everything at airports from ticketing and reservations to security systems dependent on computers or embedded chips, travelers are more likely to face delays and inconveniences than unsafe flights when the millennium dawns. ''I suspect we will have disruption more than danger,'' said Robert Heath, managing director of Crisis Corp, a British crisis management company, adding that major airlines were unlikely to fly if there was any risk of a crash. ''I don't expect the air travel industry to see major catastrophes,'' agreed Thomas Windmuller, director of Project Year 2000 for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) . ''Safety's not an issue, inconvenience is.'' He said travelers could face mishaps similar to those plaguing new airports that have opened recently in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Malpensa, Italy. Speakers at a recent conference sponsored by the Airports Council International Europe said it was critical for the air travel industry to pull together to minimize the disruptions and reassure consumers. Brophy said BAA had devoted 40 million pounds ($66.32 million) and between 100 and 200 people to a program to head off Year 2000 (Y2K) problems. ''Our objective is by July 1999 everything will be fixed at BAA airports...We're spending it because for us as a business, we will simply not be able to operate over the millennium in any sensible way if we don't sort these problems out.'' But all the efforts could come to naught, he added, if other airports did not follow suit. ''We could take off, but we would have nowhere to go,'' he said. IATA, which represents the world's airlines, launched a $20 million project in June that aims to ensure that all airports, air traffic system providers and key suppliers are aware of the Y2K problem. The group is collecting data to identify problem areas and plans to send teams to 70 top airports to make an inventory of systems that might not be Year 2000 compliant, Windmuller said. He acknowledged the project was viewed with suspicion by some airports but said that IATA had assured them confidential data would not be passed on to third parties. After completing 34 airport site visits, IATA found that the level of awareness of Y2K problems and the robustness'' of the programs to tackle them varied widely, he said. It hopes to convince airports to work together and share best practice,'' he added. Conference speakers said the air travel industry faced a public relations challenge -- how to reassure travelers that it was addressing the Year 2000 hurdle without planting fears in their minds. The most important task, Windmuller said, was to convince the public, especially those planning new millennium celebrations, that any planes leaving the ground will be safe. ''The traveling public is still overwhelmingly thinking of where they want to be when the clock ticks over,'' he said. ''The last thing we want to do is cause them to question, 'Is it safe to fly?'''