(IDG) -- A Federal Aviation Administration proposal that would require Year 2000 tests of emergency support equipment and other ground controls early on Jan. 1 is unnecessary and might cause some airports to shut down temporarily, an official of the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) said last week.

The FAA wants to require equipment tests after midnight on Dec. 31 to check for any Year 2000 problems that were missed during tests that would have been conducted before the date change.

Under a proposal posted in the July 8 Federal Register, airport operators would have to conduct readiness tests on computers and embedded microprocessors that run airfield lighting systems, emergency communications systems, emergency equipment and systems that control vehicle and passenger gates before the first scheduled flight of the new year.

All of those systems are to be tested for Year 2000 problems before Dec. 31, but the FAA said the additional tests are necessary to ensure that the airports identify and address any unforeseen problems with date-sensitive airfield equipment and systems.

But Richard Marchi, senior vice president of technical and environmental affairs at ACI-NA, said the proposal has not been well received by airport operators. "I think the proposed requirement is unnecessary, and it's unworkable," Marchi said. Numerous systems would have to be examined simultaneously in the middle of the night, which is "absurd on its face," he said.