Ansett grounds planes for New Year’s eve on Y2K fears
SYDNEY, Sept. 29 Kyodo
Australia’s Ansett Airlines said Wednesday it will suspend all domestic and international flights on New Year’s eve, claiming public concern over the millennium bug has resulted in insufficient customer demand.
All services will stop over a 13-hour period from 11 p.m. (Australian Eastern Summer Time) Dec. 31 until noon Jan. 1, Ansett said.
Ansett spokesman Nick Slater said concern about the impact of the millennium bug on navigation systems had been a consideration in the low demand for flights on Dec. 31.
“There’s nothing we can do to allay speculation, other than to talk about the work we’ve done,” Slater said.
“Some of the speculation has been misguided and some of it’s been based on relatively thin information.”
Australia’s other major airline, Qantas, will have planes in the air over New Year’s eve but on a reduced schedule, also due to low customer demand.
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