HONG KONG'S airport has received more than its share of bad publicity this past week, which was lucky for Kuala Lumpur's new international airport, which opened the previous week to an equally horrible press. If Chek Lap Kok had not come along just in time to wipe KLIA off the screen, we would still be writing knocking stories now.
But just to prove we are completely even-handed when choosing which of Her Majesty's former colonies to mock next, here is an airport story from Australia.
Sydney airport was closed for more than six hours last Monday night, because two air traffic controllers were sick and there was no one to stand in for them.
The shutdown, from 11pm to 5.15am, had little effect on passenger traffic, which is not carried at night.
But it left millions of dollars of freight stranded at the airport or diverted to other airports, some hundreds of kilometres away.
But airport staff seemed to be as well prepared in smooth responses as their counterparts in Hong Kong.
