DENMARK ADMITS AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROL NOT Y2K-READY: closing its airspace

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(from 'Boersen', the Danish financial newspaper)

- snip -

THE COUNTRY'S AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROL NOT Y2K-SAFE: As recently as 14 days ago an error was found in the air-traffic control electronic systems, and there will be no fights through Danish air-space between 22:30 on the 31 December, and New year's Day 6:30.

The State air-traffic control system, that watches over and controls Danish air-space, has since 1 October declared itself Y2K ready. However, a fault was found only 14 days ago.

- end snip -

NB: Denmark is usually mentioned as one of the BEST-PREPARED countries.

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999

Answers

Thanks, Risteard, for all your reporting since you came on board/ became an ex-lurker.

How is your name pronounced, by the way?

-- appreciate it (from the us@a.com), December 23, 1999.


Oops - I meant to write 'there will be no flights' (not 'no fights')!

My name is the Gaelic version of 'Richard': pronounced 'Ris -chard'.

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999.


Whoops, according to the Danish guy opposite me, Denmark has the largest airport in Scandanavia, and gets a lot of traffic.

Another workmate asks: "Is there enough space to ground all these aircraft? Don't airports assume that most planes will be in the air most of the time?"

Risteard, do you have a link to the original article (in Danish)?

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


Whoa! Is this the article?

My workmate (Danish national) says that this only talks about there being no traffic at the airport, i.e. no planes are planning to fly in or out. The airport will be open as normal.

Are you talking about a different article?

Thanks.

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


LATEST: Within the last hour, Air Traffic Control has been declared Y2K-ready after all, and there are no restrictions on use of Danish air-space. There will be no flights out of Copenhagen over New Year's night, but they say that's because there are no passengers who want to fly, not because of technical problems. See reports at 09:13, followed by denial at 13:01:

Boersen Link (Danish)

-- Risteard mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999.



This is waht I read in the paper this morning (since been retracted!)

Earlier article

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999.


Hmmm. Do you have a direct link to the source of the original spurious claim? I was daft enough to pass on the "airspace closed" information without checking it first (no speekee Danish), and I've just taken a credibility hit. :(

Thanks again, Risteard.

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


Gotcha! Thanks very much indeed, that clears it up. The original article does indeed say "We've got problems. No planes are flying" in the same paragraph. They also say that there will only be some empty "test" planes up around rollover. It's easy to infer from all this that is that the airspace is closed to passenger flights (I would have), but it doesn't actually SAY that.

The second article clarifies that the airspace isn't actually closed, it's just that no-one wants to use it.

Another splendid example of media cluelessness. Years of silence, and then a flurry of ill thought out articles at the last possible moment. :(

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


Servant - sorry about your credibility hit. See the link to 'Earlier article' above. This is what appeared in the morning paper, and has caused a bit of a fuss. Most people don't yet know about the retraction (like me, they don't check the on-line version of Boersen).

You can't believe anything you read in the papers these days.

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999.


Thanks once again for taking the time to follow this up Risteard. It's been educational! :)

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


The significant phrase in the original article said that a fault had been found 14 days ago " og der vil ikke blive flxjet i dansk luftrum mellem kl. 22.30 den 31..." - "and there will not be any flying in Danish airspace between 22.30 the 31...".

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 23, 1999.

There will be no flights out of Copenhagen over New Year's night, but they say that's because there are no passengers who want to fly, not because of technical problems.

None? No? Nada? Zip?

Couch potatoes - 1 .... Jet set - 0

Thanks for my chuckle of the morning.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), December 23, 1999.


Looks like there are commonalities with newmedia, uh TBTB, everywhere.

;-D

Thanks Risteard.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 23, 1999.


No one can go because the flights are cancelled because no one wants to go.

Sounds like the flip side of that old Casey Stangleism: "No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

Call me cynical, but the final explanation doesn't pass the smell test.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 23, 1999.


My sister, who is fluent in Danish, translated them, and here is her summary: "The first article (headline: Air Traffic Control System Not Yet Year 2000 Compliant) says that, although the Danish air traffic control system has been Y2K-compliant in all electronic systems since October 1, a flaw was found two weeks ago (the article does not specify what kind of flaw), and as a result, there will be no flights in Danish air space between 11:30 p.m. on December 31 and 6:30 a.m. on New Year's Day.

The second article (headline: Air Space and Danish Airports Open New Year's Eve) completely contradicts the first and says that Danish air space will not be closed over the New Year's transition, and that Danish airports will be prepared to accept flights all night. The article acknowledges that no flights are scheduled between 11:30 p.m. on 12/31 until 6:30 a.m. on 1/ 1, but says this is not due to concern over technical problems, but solely because there are no passengers to fly with."

-- (pshannon@inch.com), December 23, 1999.



Risteard be careful, and I say this as a fellow GI in Denmark. Like everywhere else, y2k news in Denmark is being 'handled' at this late stage - either through self-censorship or some kind of tacit agreement with the government.

Have you ever wondered why there has been no investigative reporting, educational programmes and hardly any reporting about y2k on the main Danish TV stations. Same is true of the most popular tabloid newspapers. The main serious newspaper, Politiken, has been grudging in its coverage, if anything, with the general slant over the last 18 months being 'no big problem' or 'der er bare hype og dommedags profetter osv' (=hype and doomsday profits). The business oriented press, Berlinske Tidende and Bxrsen have provided regular coverage over the last year, mostly passing on press releases from various business and governmental organisations - status self reporting, rollover plans etc. In fairness they haven't had a lot to bite on. There has been virtually no public debate or discussion, offline or online on the potential social, economic and political ramifications of y2k. All the major political parties, their leaders, leaders in government, all the grassroots organisations (including the environment movement) - the whole bunch have been silent on the issue. The Danish magazine Computerworld has been the only source of GI oriented coverage, the journalist Torben Simonsen in particular deserves an award for his efforts.

Personally I don't know what to make of it all. Everything is so normal, nobody is worried (a recent survey claimed the Danish people to be the most aware and the least worried about y2k). In the back of my mind I keep wondering if there is some kind of plan, that TPTB here in Denmark do have a measure of the problem, a handle on the situation, the potential impacts and the resources in place to respond if needed. I just haven't been able to find it or any hint of it, or any data, reason, argument that would justify the almost surreal confidence/complacency/obliviousness that seems to have settled over the country. Bad things never happen here. Not in little Denmark. So Y2K can't be bad. Can it?

-- flkj (flkj@flkj.com), December 23, 1999.


aelkj, you are right, of course.

"In Hillerxd, Holte, and Haderslev, hurricanes hardly happen" (paraphrasing Pygmalion/ My Fair Lady).

Glfedelig jul.

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 24, 1999.


Mine's a Carlsberg - hope they are compliant...

Seriously - this does not bode well at all. The ATC computers in the UK are marginal I've also heard... at some point Aircraft are going to have to fly as normal... wouldn't want to be a paying guinea pig on any of these "test Flights"... :o)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), December 24, 1999.


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