New Years Eve 99: Concern for 37 Million American Travelers

October 11, 1999 

Contact:  Stephen M. Apatow 
President & Executive Director, Humanitarian Resource
Institute 
Eastern USA: (203) 668-0282   Western USA: (775)
884-4680 
Internet:  http://www.humanitarian.net  Email: 
sma@humanitarian.net 

U.S. SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE: PUBLIC SAFETY OF UTMOST
CONCERN IN THE LIGHT OF Y2K HYPE, LARGE MILLENNIAL
CELEBRATIONS, AND POTENTIAL MALICIOUS ATTACKS 

According to the Travel Industry Association of
America: "Thirty Seven Million Americans Likely to
Travel on News Year's Eve 1999; Less Than 10% of
Travelers are Worried About Y2K Problems Affecting
Travel." 

Company Press Release 
SOURCE: Travel Industry Association of America 
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/991001/dc_tia_new_1.html 

According to the 100 Day Report by the U.S. Senate
Special Committee for the Year 2000 Technology
Problem: 

*  Only 25% of over 3000 counties reported being ready
as of June 1999. Of greatest concern at the local
level was the readiness of the 911 Public Safety
Answering Points, and the ability to provide adequate
response in the face of a potential increase in demand
for service due to Y2K problems. 

*  Telecommunications:  Still, unpredictable
infrastructure failures, sudden changes in consumer
behavior, or customer premise equipment and private
network problems could adversely impact
telecommunications. Increased call volume and ad hoc
“testing” could congest networks and erode stability.
Full interoperability between compli-ant and
non-compliant elements and their impact on the public
switched network remains unknown. The lag-ging Y2K
readiness of small and medium-sized domestic carriers
could impact services in rural com-munities. Finally,
there has been no attempt to assess whether the rush
to
implement Y2K fixes on a global scale will having a
lingering impact on the stability of global
communications networks over the next year. 

*  Rural and inner city hospitals, nursing homes, and
physicians’ offices have particularly high Y2K risk
exposure due to limited technical/managerial resources
and lack of awareness. 

*  Transportation:   The Federal Aviation
Administration has successfully completed its effort
to make the nation’s air traffic control systems
ready. Notwithstanding this considerable progress, it
appears that some of the nation's 670 do-mestic
airports
remain at risk in areas such as jetway security
systems and runway lighting. It is likely there will
be disruptions resulting in delays at some U.S.
airports. The situation with international air traffic
control and airports is much more worri-some. 

* Many public transit systems have also failed to
aggressively address the Y2K problem, which makes
service disruptions likely for some transit systems. 

*  Of utmost concern from a public safety point of
view is the mixture of Y2K-hype, large millennium
celebrations, and potential mali-cious attacks. This
report high-lights the need for local authori-ties to
be ready to handle any situation, from hazardous waste
spills to the failure of emergency 911 systems. While
contingency planning and business continuity plans
have
become the norm for most state and local govern-ments,
there are few standards and little confidence that
sufficient testing and verification of specific Y2K
plans has occurred. This is particularly worrisome
since communities may not be able to call upon
external resources for a period of time. 
  

For additional information and detailed reports on the
Year 2000 Technology Problem visit the: 

Humanitarian Resource Institute Global Y2K
Infrastructure Risks Web Site 
http://www.humanitarian.net/y2keconomic.html 

"Comprehensive Resource on the Scope of Y2K Global
Impact" - Mitre 

Referenced: 

*  DGIII-Industry, European Commission:  Year 2000
computer problem 
Voted best Year 2000 Government Site  by the Wall
Street Journal 
*  Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development:  Y2K in the spotlight 
*  Expats Network, the international aid workers'
network:  NGOs / GOs 
*  Global Millennial Foundation: Global View -
Improved global leadership example 
*  Mitre: Non-DOD Year 2000 Information Links 
*  The Institution of Electrical Engineers: 
International Year 2000 Status 
  

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