Argentine Airlines Not Flying New Year's Eve Night

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WIRE:12/23/1999 11:06:00 ET Argentine Airlines Not Flying New Year's Eve Night BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - None of Argentina's airlines plan to fly during the night on New Year's Eve as a precaution against possible Y2K computer problems. "All Argentine airlines have canceled their flights for the night of Dec. 31," Alejandro Lotito, a spokesman for Aerolineas Argentinas, the national airline, told Reuters.

The airline will suspend operations at 8.30 p.m., until the next morning, he said.

"We are obeying a decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which has drawn up a contingency plan to avoid any problems," he said late on Wednesday.

The Argentine Air Force, which regulates both military and civilian flights, has implemented a federal plan which complies with the ICAO's contingency plan under which flight frequencies will be widened and put under manual control to avoid any computer related risk.

He said Aerolineas Argentinas did not fear any Y2K problems itself, but added that demand for flights that night was so low as not to make it worth operating anyway.

The Y2K computer bug is produced by outdated computer software that abbreviates years with only the final two digits, and so could confuse 2000 with 1900.

Argentina's civil airports have checked their computer systems and are ready for the changeover to next year, Jorge Suarez, director of airport concessionary Aeropuertos Argentinos 2000, said.

Argentina has seen a number of near mid-air collisions in recent years but airline pilots say there have been major improvements recently.

A 29-year old Boeing 737 operated by local airline LAPA crashed, killing 72 people, in Buenos Aires in September.

Aerolineas Argentinas is 80-percent controlled by a holding company owned by banks and other investors. The remaining 20 percent belongs to Iberia IBLI.CN, Spain's national airline, and U.S.-based AMR. Corp. (AMR.N), which controls American Airlines.

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