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Y2K Aviation Data Lacking For 17 Spots, U.S. Says By Tim Dobbyn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said Thursday it lacked enough data to judge the Year 2000 aviation readiness of 17 international destinations with direct links to the United States.

Given the ``inconclusive'' status of Y2K preparations, the U.S. Transportation Department said it was difficult to estimate ``the likelihood, length or severity of any disruptions'' that might occur in these civil aviation systems:

-- Aruba, Cayman Islands, Czech Republic, French Antilles, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Paraguay, Samoa, St. Kitts, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Uruguay.

``Prudence, therefore, dictates that travelers electing to fly in the civil aviation system of (these destinations) during the period immediately before and after the New Year should plan their itinerary carefully,'' the department said on its Web site, www.y2ktransport.dot.gov/fly2k.

Travelers should ``avail themselves of all information available prior to departure, take practical precautions for their own comfort and personal needs, and be prepared to cope with disruptions and delays in services,'' it added.

At issue is a coding glitch that could scramble unprepared computers -- and the operations they control -- starting on Jan. 1, after 1999 changes to 2000.

So far, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Department arm that certifies U.S. airports, aircraft and pilots, has not identified any aircraft safety problems associated with Y2K among manufacturers subject to its jurisdiction, the department said.

Dave Smallen, a department spokesman, said most top foreign destinations for U.S. travelers report they have taken steps to ensure Y2K compliance for air traffic control systems, airlines and airports.

Thomas Windmuller of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airlines' trade association, also said a majority of airports -- 70 percent --- providing data report having completed Y2K work on more than 60 percent of all systems.

``Based on the data available to us, we are generally satisfied with the progress we are seeing amongst all sectors of the air transport industry,'' he told the Special Senate Committee on Y2K Thursday.

Saying it would be unwise to predict a flawless rollover into 2000, he said IATA hoped and expected that inconveniences would not be significantly worse in the new year ``than they are on any other winter weekend in the Northern Hemisphere.''

Meanwhile, the U.S. Transportation Department's top investigator, Kenneth Mead, told Congress that the United States should consider steps to press countries that have not disclosed the Y2K preparations of their civil aviation authorities, air carriers and airports.

At issue is the failure to reply to a Y2K readiness survey of the 185-member, Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

According to an ICAO list made available by the FAA, 30 countries still had not replied as of Monday, ignoring the July 1 deadline.

They were: Albania, Angola, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Cambodia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kiribati.

Also: Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Libya, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Western Samoa.

Mead, the department's inspector-general told the Special Senate Y2K committee, that numerous other countries failed to give sufficient information to allow for adequate Year-2000 readiness assessments.

In the United States, he said, most large carriers in all transportation modes, including the major airlines, are ``making good progress and should be ready in time,'' he said.

But he said more than 1,900 smaller air carriers had not responded to an FAA Y2K readiness survey.

The Senate committee's vice chairman, Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd, said he was drawing up legislation to bar any U.S. carrier that has not responded to the FAA from flying after Dec. 31.

-- Slammer (BillSlammer@yahoo.com), September 30, 1999

Answers

should be ready??--is that like'you should be a good person.

-- tricky-word-usage. (dogs@zianet.com), September 30, 1999.