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Passing the Y2K test with flying colors By Erik J. Martin Get the luggage out of the attic. Cancel those cross-country bus reservations. Prepare to eat honey-roasted peanuts again. In case you haven't heard, Year 2000 is ready for takeoff. Forget everything you've read about airplanes falling from the sky on Jan. 1 and other nightmare aviation scenarios depicted by the media. It seems that the Federal Aviation Administration and all the other guys who run the skies have given the thumbs up for safe departure this New Year's and beyond. And just in time, too -- I was ready to pledge allegiance to the rail and ask about any frequent rider miles programs offered by Amtrak. To gauge its progress on Y2K fixes and, more importantly, to reassure an apprehensive public that its craft could remain airborne, the FAA conducted an important test in mid-April at the Denver International Airport. The clocks on backup computers in several air traffic control facilities were set forward to just before midnight, December 31, to check navigation, radar and communications systems. The FAA was proud to announce that its systems passed the test. "The FAA test should reassure the public that the air traffic control system will be ready for the next century," said Tom Browne, manager of Year 2000 issues for the Air Transport Association -- the representative body of airlines carrying more than 90 percent of US air traffic - to reporters after the event. Following the FAA's test, Kevin Dobby, the executive responsible for coordinating the International Air Transport Association's Y2K program, reportedly issued a statement saying "There will be no compromise on safety," echoing what the FAA had been saying all along. The FAA must feel especially vindicated in the wake of the test's promising results, considering that it had been severely criticized by the press over the past year for its would-be lackluster efforts in exterminating the Y2K bug. By not meeting the government's March 31 deadline for Y2K compliance, it brought a fuselage full of bad pub onto itself. The agency defended itself, however, by saying that it wasn't realistic to meet the March 31 deadline without compromising safety. Instead, the FAA has set June 30 as the deadline to ensure system readiness for the Year 2000. To further boost passenger confidence, leading airline manufacturer Boeing has conducted test flights on several of its major aircraft models -- including the 717, 737, 747, 767, 777, MD-80, MD-90 and MD-11. After forwarding the clocks to simulate a Y2K date rollover, the flights continued without a hitch. The forecast isn't sunny in every aviation sector, however. The new year could be fraught with airport inconveniences. Suitcase in point: The baggage carousel may stop turning, or the escalators may leave you frozen in your tracks. (Too bad doomsday literature peddlers, panhandlers and pickpockets aren't vulnerable to Y2K, too.) The FAA stated that its focus would now shift to airport Y2K compliance and international readiness, the latter which will certainly be a huge hurdle. After all, you may be able to fly throughout Y2K proactive North America, but jetsetting off to Asia or, say, South America -- where Y2K compliance efforts may not be quite so thorough -- could be a cause for concern. What's more, the FAA had previously promised to reduce the number of planes departing on New Year's weekend to minimize the risk of mid-air collisions should its computers fail. So even if all the planes are safe and the airports are Y2K-ready, booking and rescheduling flights for New Year's and enduring delays and cancellations (remember, airport floors don't make for a very good night's sleep) could cause quite a few headaches. Some experts are also skeptical of the FAA's test findings. The fact that the air traffic control tests took place in Denver, at one of the FAA's newest, most technologically advanced airports, should be considered. How would older airports and air traffic control centers fare against rigorous Y2K tests? How can passengers be assured that every air travel detail has been accounted for or that every millennium bug has been or is about to be squashed? There are still several questions left unanswered, and many tests that have yet to be conducted. Nevertheless, I refuse to let panic and pessimism pervade my life as a passenger. If the FAA and airplane manufacturers say it's OK to fly, why shouldn't we believe them? Why should we scoff when several politicians and aviation officials have even promised to take to the skies on New Year's Eve to further prove to the public that there are no Y2K-related dangers in flying? (I wonder if these guys are really flying to some posh New Year's Eve party on our tax dollars, but enough of my cynicism.) So there. Further proof that TEOTWAWKI (for all you Y2K Armageddon newbies, that’s short for "the end of the world as we know it") is not as imminent as we first feared. Just the same, I think I'll avoid lost luggage headaches and overcrowded airports this New Year's and instead enjoy eating my honey-roasteds buckled into the La-Z Boy watching college football on the big screen TV. Beats watching another sappy in-flight movie. 1999 Thomson Target Media Erik J. Martin is a freelance journalist who has penned a regular multimedia column for Screen Magazine and has written for a variety of other publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Coverstory and The X-Files Official Magazine. He lives in Oak Lawn, Illinois, with his wife, son, and the Millennium Bug, which he is still trying to exterminate from his PC. Certainly no self-proclaimed technowhiz, Erik prides himself on being "an average guy with the same concerns and questions about Y2K as everyone else. My job? To get answers to those questions, and pass them along to you." Erik J. Martin can be reached at [email protected] Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA