NEWS- Y2K aviation data void for 17

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Subject: NEWS- Y2K aviation data void for 17 spots, US says

Y2K aviation data void for 17 spots, US says

By Tim Dobbyn

  
WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The United States said on 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.
Department of Transportation (DOT) 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. 

The good news from the report was that the top three travel destinations
from the United States -- Canada, Britain and Japan -- have reported
they will be fully Y2K ready by the end of the year. 

Among other top 20 travel destination considered likely to be ready are
Jamaica and Ireland, while Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea have
already completed their Y2K preparations, DOT said. 

MORE NEEDED ON SOME MAJOR DESTINATIONS 

But there was incomplete information at this time on France, Germany,
Italy and Mexico, some of the other destinations in the top 20 that make
up 82 percent of the international travel market from the United States. 

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. 

At a congressional hearing Thursday, the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the arm of DOT that certifies U.S. airports,
aircraft and pilots, said it had not identified any aircraft safety
problems associated with Y2K among manufacturers subject to its
jurisdiction. 

Domestically, FAA is still following up with airports and smaller
carriers that have not responded to its requests for information,
although the top 10 carriers and most of the 150 biggest airports said
they would be ready by the end of September. 

But 1,900 smaller airlines out of over 3,000, ranging from scenic tour
operators to crop-dusters, have not even responded to FAA's April
questionnaire, the Senate Special Committee on Y2K heard. 

SMALL U.S. CARRIERS ATTRACT ATTENTION 

That led Sen. Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who is vice-chairman
of the panel, to threaten legislation that would ground carriers after
Dec. 31, who have not responded to FAA's request by mid November. 

FAA Administrator Jane Garvey welcomed Dodd's initiative as did DOT
Inspector General Ken Mead who faulted the FAA for starting with a
voluntary approach to its survey. 

``Quite frankly, if they want to fly in this country, they could at
least respond to question about their Y2K compliance,'' Mead told the
panel. 

Mead, DOT's internal investigator, added that compliance by U.S.
carriers would add weight to U.S. demands for information from other
countries. 

According to a revised list circulated by the FAA, 29 countries have not
even replied to a Y2K readiness survey by the 185-member, Montreal-based
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an agency of the
United Nations. 

NO INFORMATION ON SOME COUNTRIES 

Still ignoring ICAO's original July 1 deadline 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. 

Nevertheless, Thomas Windmuller of the International Air Transport
Association (IATA), was upbeat about the overall international aviation
picture. 

``Based on the data available to us, we are generally satisfied with the
progress we are seeing among all sectors of the air transport
industry,'' he told the Senate panel. 

Saying it would be unwise to predict a flawless rollover into 2000,
Windmuller 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.''