E. Telegraph: BA grounds bulk of fleet over Millennium

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ISSUE 1578 Monday 20 September 1999

BA grounds bulk of fleet over Millennium By Paul Marston, Transport Correspondent BRITISH Airways will have barely a third of its normal long-haul fleet in the air on Millennium Eve and will suspend all European and domestic flights for 14 hours straddling the century change.

The airline insists that its decision has been determined solely by the low level of passenger demand over the holiday, and does not reflect safety concerns about the impact of the Millennium Bug on aviation equipment or air traffic control systems.

The Telegraph has learned that a confidential study of computer readiness carried out by the International Air Transport Association suggests that relatively few airports or airspace sectors are likely to pose additional risk. The analysis indicates that dangerous destinations are largely confined to parts of Russia, China, India and Pakistan. BA has excluded these countries from its schedule on Dec 31.

Despite pilots' long-standing criticism of air traffic control in much of Africa, the continent's main air corridors have received the all-clear. BA therefore intends to go ahead with Millennium flights from London to Nairobi, Harare, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Other aircraft in the skies at midnight will be heading toward Hong Kong, Tokyo, Mauritius, New York and Vancouver. Simultaneously, there will be inbound flights to Heathrow and Gatwick from Africa, North America, the Caribbean and Hong Kong. In all, 20 aircraft will be flying, carrying about 4,000 passengers, as Britain moves into the new century. On New Year's Eve 1998, BA had 55 aircraft in the air.

The carrier's short-haul operations are also being curtailed. The latest departure, normally about 9pm, has been brought forward to 5.40pm, while the first take-off, usually 7am, has been put back to 9.30am. A company official said the low level of Millennium flights was a product of customer demand. She said: "Most consumers want to get to their destinations well before Millennium Eve and come back a few days afterwards."

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), September 20, 1999

Answers

And another one bytes the dust, eh, Hoffy???????

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 20, 1999.

Hey.. its not even rollover and planes are "falling" from the skies.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), September 20, 1999.

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