No Y2K problems for RI aviation industry

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's aviation industry will have its computer systems free from any problems posed by the millennium bug by the second quarter of this year, Minister of Communications Giri Suseno Hadihardjono said on Thursday.

He said the government, airport managements and airline operators had given high priority to dealing with the millennium bug, also known as the Y2K. This priority also includes providing the necessary funds to deal with any potential Y2K problems, he said.

Airlines are now looking at possible millennium bug problems in their electronic components, aircraft computer systems and on- line reservation systems, he said.

Airport managements also are working on possible Y2K problems, including looking at computer systems used for air traffic control (ATC), Giri said.

"God willing, all operations regarding Y2K compliance for the air transportation sector will be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year," Giri said.

He said priority was being given to major airports which operated high-technology electronic systems in their ATCs, including Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Polonia Airport in Medan, Juanda Airport in Surabaya and Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali.

Bringing computer systems into compliance does not necessarily require a huge expenditure by airport managements, he said.

"The funds are not so large because from the beginning we have required all new electronic equipment for airports to be Y2K compliant, so components needed to fix airport systems are not too costly," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Y2K problems are expected to arise from the inability of some computers and computer systems to recognize the date on Jan. 1, 2000, because computers were programmed to read only the last two digits of a year.

The glitch may cause computers to malfunction or shut down.

Giri said travel agents who use on-line reservation systems also must make sure their computer systems were Y2K compliant.

Giri, chairman of the government-sponsored Y2K problem handling team, said the banking sector and the customs office would likely be free from possible millennium bug problems by the end of June.

Those who have made their computer systems Y2K compliant should also prepare contingency plans and conduct some testing to anticipate possible failures, Giri said.

He hailed state-electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara's (PLN) move to prepare contingency plans despite its optimism that its computer system was Y2K compliant.

PLN announced earlier this week it had allocated US$15 million to upgrade its computer system in anticipation of the millennium bug. (cst)