STORY:
British Airways Y2K Ready

Clocks turned forward in one hour test flight over France

British Airways claims to have solved it's Y2K computer bug problems after flying one of it's A320 Airbuses to France with all the aircraft's electronic equipment switched to midnight on New Year's Eve. According to the London Evening Standard, the test took place on a special flight from Heathrow to Nice. On board were BA executives and journalists.

The news report says the plane's cockpit clocks were forwarded to 11pm December 31 just before takeoff. An hour later while over France, the pilot's clocks clicked over to midnight January 1 2000 without any problems.

The story says computer experts dismissed the flight as a publicity stunt saying the experiment was meaningless unless other airport operations, such as air traffic control, were also involved. BA executives say the flight was made to reassure customers that it is OK to fly British Airways over the New Year's Eve holiday. BA is spending £100 million to ensure it's fleet is Y2K compliant. BA executives say it expects to be the only British carrier with planes in the air at the critical moment.

BA has said it would refuse to fly to any airports which had not been judged safe by the International Air Transport Authority and other safety bodies. According to the British Airline Pilots Association, many foreign countries and airlines have failed to eradicate the bug and could face severe problems. The Standard reports pilots as saying it will almost certainly be safe to fly to north and west Europe and the US, but flights to other destinations between 31 December and 3 January could be severely restricted.

Source: London Evening Standard

DATE: 07/06/99

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