Computer Snafus Continue To Plague Airlines
The cancellation of 1,100 Christmas Day flights by Comair because of computer troubles is prompting calls for more investments in backup systems and other technologies to prevent further groundings and damage to an already struggling industry.
Source: eWeekThe foul-up was hardly the first: A computer glitch grounded 40 Delta flights in May. A power failure created a computer problem that forced Northwest to cancel more than 120 flights in July. A worker keystroke error grounded or delayed some American and US Airways flights for several hours in August.
"Obviously, the airlines have become way too dependent on computers,'' said Terry Trippler, an airline industry expert in Minneapolis. "Imagine a computer glitch and all the Wal-Mart stores across the country shut down, (founder) Sam (Walton) would come out of his grave.''
Bruce Schneier, a computer security expert in Mountain View, Calif., said the issue boils down to cost versus benefit.
Airlines could upgrade existing computers to handle more transactions, install sophisticated backup systems that come on when the primary system fails or buy high-performance software that is used by NASA, nuclear plants and medical facilities to keep critical systems running at all times, Schneier said.
"It's certainly feasible, but it's my guess it's not economic,'' Schneier said. "My guess is it is cheaper for the airline to absorb this loss, which doesn't happen often, than to fix the problem.''
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