Ports authority braces for Y2K
With only six months away to the next millennium, the Commonwealth Ports Authority has almost finished updating its computer program so that airport operations and security are not jeopardized by the year 2000 computer glitch, according to CPA Executive Director Carlos H. Salas.
A drill will be conducted by the ports authority in October and November to make sure that all the different sections at Saipan International Airport will be running smoothly, he said.
The Saipan International Airport Tower will carry out its own test to find out adjustments it must undertake at this early should any problem arise.
The ports authority had to beat the June 30, 1999 deadline to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration rule, which was designed to ensure that airport operation has updated its software to deal with the computer glitch.
The millennium bug could jeopardize airport operations because it may fail to fix dates, calculate transactions and perform other operations, thus, various government agencies have to make sure that their systems are Y2K compliant.
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has created a coordinating body to ensure that the computer millennium bug would not disrupt government operations at the turn of the century . Computer experts have been hired by officials of various government agencies to help them fix the system and not be caught off guard in the year 2000.
In the private sector, only big businesses have started fixing software and upgraded systems to avoid technological glitch. The global securities industry estimates that between $5 billion and $6 billion through 1999 would be needed to get rid of the bug.
