Jane F. Garvey
Administrator
Federal Aviation Administration
The Clock Is Ticking
International Air Transport Association
Annual General Meeting
Montreal, Canada
June 8, 1998
Good morning. In 571 days it will be January 1, 2000.
Five hundred and seventy-one days ago little did the global aviation community realize how much difference a day could make. But today we know more than ever just how much we need to do to get ready for that New Year's Day.
The answer is "yes." Aviation safety will not be compromised on that day, or on any other day.
Today, I want to bring you up to date on what the FAA is doing to get ready forJanuary 1, 2000. I also want to share some of the lessons we've learned. And throughout my remarks I will stress the importance and the urgency of dealing with the Y2K issue in your companies and your countries.
I'm pleased that IATA has demonstrated leadership in setting up programs to deal with Y2K at airlines and with their suppliers. I urge you to continue support of IATA's programs. They are on the leading edge of international efforts to deal with the Y2K problem and are essential to our common goal of assuring aviation safety and efficiency.
None of us can solve the Y2K problem by ourselves. But, by working together we can solve it at the same time we achieve the less tangible, yet still important, goal of mutual assurance that aviation will operate safely and that capacity will be maintained.
Ensuring that all FAA computer systems properly recognize the Year 2000 is one of my highest priorities.
In February of this year, I changed FAA's approach to the Y2K problem. FAA's Air Traffic Services had developed an approach that involved centralized management, with a clear plan and process. I made that the model for the rest of the agency and created a Year 2000 program office reporting directly to me. I asked the manager of the Air Traffic program, Ray Long, to head the new FAA office.
Ray had headed the FAA's Y2K effort for the FAA's Air Traffic Services division. Under his guidance, Air Traffic Services did not miss a single Y2K deadline.
I have made clear to the FAA's senior managers that the Y2K effort was to be provided the people and resources needed to solve this problem. It is a message that I continue to make. I do not want this effort to get diminished in the face of all the things FAA must do.
The Y2K Program Office is using the five-phase approach recommended by the U.S. General Accounting Office and the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that all systems are Y2K compliant. The five phases are awareness, assessment, renovation, validation, and implementation.
As of January 31, we completed the second, or assessment, phase. This means that each line of code in all 655 systems was examined to determine which ones needed to be fixed in order to be Y2K compliant. Of those, there are 430 mission-critical systems. These include the operational systems that provide many of your airlines with air traffic control and navigation services.
The FAA is now in the midst of the third, or renovation, phase. This means that all lines of code that need to be fixed are being fixed. Of the FAA's 430 mission-critical systems, 141 are already Y2K compliant. We are renovating 163 systems, replacing or retiring 70, and determining the best strategy to handle eleven systems. This work will be completed by September 30 of this year.
Testing and re-testing the renovated systems is the fourth, or validation, phase. Validation will be completed by March 31, 1999. Our validation process tests components and individual systems.
In addition to this process of testing the individual systems in the field, we are planning end-to-end tests. An end-to-end test is when you test the interrelationships of systems, not just the individual system itself. This is how the systems operate. This is how we must test them.
These end-to-end tests will be conducted between our Technical Center in Atlantic City, which can simulate any of our Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and a test approach control facility in Denver. These end-to-end tests will reinforce our assurance that individual system fixes will not compromise safety.
We have also begun staff level meetings with NavCanada to discuss testing between our systems. NavCanada is also discussing testing with the United Kingdom's National Air Traffic Service.
The last of the five phases is implementation. Our implementation deadline is June 30, 1999. This is the date by which all FAA systems will be certified and operational as Y2K compliant. The FAA is looking to move the March 31 validation and June 30, 1999 implementation deadlines up.
As for the Host computer, which drives displays at the nation's 20 en route centers, we are taking a two-track approach. For one, renovation of the Host's lines of code will be completed by the end of this month, with validation and implementation to follow the timelines for the other systems. At the same time, we are working to replace the Host computer. This will be completed by January 1, 2000.
During this five-phase process, we have a team reviewing contingency plans. We already have contingency plans in place for 20th century issues, such as weather, equipment failures, power or communications outages and the like. But contingency planning for the 21st century and the Y2K issue presents its own challenges. Spares don't cut it they could have their own Y2K bugs.
This is why we have a team reviewing existing contingency plans and developing new plans as needed. In addition, we've begun regional contingency planning discussions with Canada and are setting up meetings with Mexico. Most importantly, throughout the entire Y2K process we are in close communication with ATA for the U.S. airlines and IATA for the world's airlines. We are also working with IATA staff to develop an action plan with ICAO.
The cost estimate for the entire FAA Y2K effort is $191.7 million. Not factored into this cost estimate are the travel expenses for the trip Ray Long and I plan to take on the evening of December 31, 1999. To celebrate New Year's Eve, we will board a plane shortly before midnight Greenwich Mean Time and fly west through all four continental time zones to demonstrate our confidence to the flying public that the nation's airspace system is safe.
Ray says he expects this to be an utterly normal but deeply satisfying trip.
This "midnight ride" leads me to my next point, and that is lessons learned. There are two key ones.
One, Y2K needs leadership from the top. That is where the direction and deadlines must come from. After all, this is project with a due date that will not slip.
Two, in an industry as visible as ours, and one that attracts so much public attention, you need to assure the public that you have the Y2K issue under control.
I'm sure this audience understands how vital public perception and confidence is to aviation.
You can build this confidence by being candid about the challenge of the task, by making your implementation schedule public, and by issuing periodic progress reports. You can even plan your own trip for New Year's Eve 1999.
But none of this will help you meet the assurance test, unless you have a comprehensive plan that will eliminate the Y2K bug. This is why I am here in Montreal. I want you to know what we are doing. I want you to have the assurance that it will be business as usual on January 1, 2000.
Similarly, I want that assurance from you.
I also want you to know that you can feel free to talk with us. You can call Joe Morgan, who is our Y2K special projects manager. He is the one working directly with the international aviation community.
Two weeks ago, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater met with the Transport Ministers of Europe. He proposed an international summit on the Year 2000 problem and its affect on transportation. Encourage your Ministers of Transport to attend the international summit.
Furthermore, you also know about your nation's critical dependencies, such as telecommunications, power, and finance. Information from our State Department and the World Bank indicate many countries do not have adequate Y2K programs. If this is a perception problem, you can help by getting encouraging authorities in your countries to get the word out. If the problem needs to be addressed, particularly in sectors critical to aviation, your personal attention may help in the sharing of status information, solution of problems as well as contingency planning.
I hope we are all ready.