CY millennium test successful

CYPRUS Airways (CY) yesterday completed successful millennium bug testing on its aircraft, the airline said.

At around 10am yesterday, an Airbus A-320 took off from Larnaca Airport manned by two pilots and one co-pilot. There were no passengers on board.

An announcement from the airline said the plane’s clocks and computer systems were reprogrammed to switch to Y2K conditions half an hour into the flight, which headed towards the Greek island of Rhodes.

The pilots then went through their paces for two hours before returning to land successfully at Larnaca.

“This flight has confirmed assurances by manufacturers Airbus Industrie of the Y2K compatibility of its aircraft,” the CY statement said.

In all, over 700 CY air and ground systems have been checked and given the okay or replaced as part of a three-year multi-million pound project involving over 70 experts.

Although CY says its systems are compliant, concerns remain about flying on December 31 due to the possibility that air traffic systems of other countries may not be compliant.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.