FSVT seek to reassure travelling public about Y2K

Published: 12/6/1999

Andrey Sharypov, of the Federal Air Transport Service (FSVT), has claimed that all necessary measures to prepare Russia"s air transport computer systems for the year 2000 have been implemented. He said that all of Russia"s aviation systems have either been upgraded or replaced. The FSVT has also created a special centre to resolve Y2K problems for Russian air transport operators during the critical period between 27th December 1999 and 7th January 2000, with similar centres set up in the FSVT"s regional offices. The confidence of the FSVT is not necessarily shared by a number of Western European countries and the US State Department, who have issued warnings about travel in the region over the New Year period, as they are unhappy with the level of preparation or with the information supplied. Russia has, however, caught up - to a degree - on some earlier short comings, having inspected over 7000 aircraft, and reporting a much lower level of failure than anticipated at its 600 airports, 400 which were expected to have problems earlier in the year

Article ID: 1168