CY to carry out test flights on New Year’s day before first passenger service

Cyprus Airways said yesterday it would carry out two more test flights to double check the Y2K compliance of its aircraft and ground systems.A first test flight was successfully completed on December 6.Airline spokesman Tassos Angelis said all the company’s systems were Y2K compliant, and CY also had assurances from aircraft manufacturer Airbus that there would not be any problems.The two test flights will be conducted on the morning of January 1, just before the airline’s first commercial flight of the new century.The Cyprus Airways Chairman, directors, and other officials will be passengers on one of the two test flights.”We are certain everything is all right, and we want to convey our certainty to the travelling public,” said Angeli.The last Cyprus Airway flight to Larnaca will be at 8.30 pm on New Year’s Eve, and the first one out will be at noon the next day.Angeli said the airline’s staff would have ample time to re- check the systems and gather information from around the world.A team of 70 engineers and other staff will be on duty that night checking all the systems.The company will have an open line with the International Airline Association, which will send information and briefings about conditions around the world.We expect all airports at our destinations to be ready to receive our flights, said Angeli.”If they are not, the flight will be cancelled. We will not risk the lives of our passengers and personnel,” he added.

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.