More Y2K Flights Cancelled

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Daily News

Some Y2K Flights Cancelled

By Business Reporters, The Nation.

November 20, 1999

Thai Airways International will cancel at least 19 flights that straddle the night of Dec. 31 and the morning of Jan. 1, because of Y2K safety concerns, the chairman of the airline's executive board said on Thursday.

Mahidol Chatarangkura, also Transport Ministry permanent secretary, said after a board meeting that 19 long-haul flights to Europe and the Middle East would be cancelled and four flights rescheduled.

Before the meeting, Thai Airways president Thamnoon Wanglee said up to 20 flights would be cancelled because of uncertainties over the Y2K readiness of some airports.

"No domestic flights will be affected, only 20 flights to Europe, Australia and Sri Lanka will be suspended," he said.

Thai Airways also left open the possibility that further flights could be cancelled, pending an assessment by the International Civil Aviation Organisation on Y2K readiness in the Asia Pacific region.

A team will visit Thailand on Dec. 9 and the Thai Airways board would take a final decision on Dec. 19 on the cancellation of international flights following the team's evaluation of the situation in the region.

Thai Airways, which has 473 scheduled flights on Dec. 31, had earlier said it planned to fly all its aircraft through midnight and had already run a test flight to assure the public that the airline would be safe.

But airline officials had voiced reservations about the readiness of airports in other countries and said they planned to reconsider the whole flight schedule.

Transport and Communications Minister Suthep Thaugsuban aired fears earlier this week that the Y2K bug could affect air traffic control systems in countries with ageing and underdeveloped infrastructure, such as Afghanistan, Burma and Russia.

Although Thai Airways, aviation agencies and the government have cleared the airline of potential Y2K problems, passengers are still reported to be nervous.

"If passengers do not feel happy, why would we fly?" asked Suthep, adding that "safety is our first priority."

Y2K refers to the potential for chaos in old computer systems that read years by the last two digits. They could mistake 2000 for 1900 on Jan. 1 and hence lead to breakdowns. Experts have warned that the bug could cause anything from plane crashes to failure of automatic bank teller machines.

The authorities should monitor the Y2K bug until Jan. 4 instead of only between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, said Kanchit Malaiwong, director of the Technological Information Service Centre.

He warned that there could be hidden flaws in computer programs written to rectify the software glitch.

He said these flaws could affect business and government agencies when they reopen on Jan. 4 after the New Year holidays.

Speaking at a seminar held in Government House on the public sector's preparedness for the Y2K glitch, he said a major concern for the authorities is a possible act of sabotage or terrorism in the guise of Y2K problems.

Kanchit said the Interior Ministry has, however, agreed to be on guard for such activity in all provinces.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@Tminus41&counting.down), November 20, 1999

Answers

Now if we can just PJ off his transatlantic. Also, not reading into it toooo much, but I liked the recent Egypt Air admission. "I have made my decision" ... ooops that was never anywhere in the transcript, we have no idea why we said it was in the first place. They should come out with either of two new announcements. 1) We are trying to mislead you 2) We are idiots, please provide us with the neccessary dunce cap.

-- PD (PaulDMaher@att.worldnet.com), November 20, 1999.

Now if we can just get PJ off his transatlantic. Also, not reading into it toooo much, but I liked the recent Egypt Air admission. "I have made my decision" ... ooops that was never anywhere in the transcript, we have no idea why we said it was in the first place. They should come out with either of two new announcements. 1) We are trying to mislead you 2) We are idiots, please provide us with the neccessary dunce cap.

-- PD (PaulDMaher@att.worldnet.com), November 20, 1999.

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