Aeroflot spends $12 million on Y2K compliance since November of 1998

Published: 9/23/1999

Aeroflot has confirmed that it has spent $12m since November 1998 preparing for Year 2000 compliance. In a statement, it said: " Aeroflot will have no problems as a result of the arrival of the year 2000." Checks carried out by Airbus, Boeing and Lufthansa Technik have certified that the computer bug would not affect Aeroflot's foreign-manufactured aircraft. It further confirmed that domestic-built Tupolev TU-154, Tu-134, Ilyushin IL-62M, IL-76, IL-86 and IL-96-300 aircraft would not be affected, most of which have a relatively low level of digital equipment. Aeroflot said it had also carried out checks on its Moscow based computer systems and at its 139 affiliated offices worldwide. Earlier this month, the Russian FSVT claimed that the country's civil aviation sector was making all necessary preparations, and that over $100m had been spent ensuring the sector's readiness for 2000. While it is encouraging to report that Russia's largest airline is well prepared for the millennium, the same cannot be said of the industry as a whole. In the last week, both the US State Department and the UK's Foreign Office (www.concise.org 15th September 1999) issued warnings about flying in both Russian and the Ukraine, even suggesting not flying at all during the period before and after the new year.

Article ID: 897