Today, two weeks after Chek Lap Kok wrote itself into aviation history as one of the world's most mishandled infrastructure projects, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa is going out there to see the situation for himself.
Mr Tung has a tendency to turn up at the scene of a public emergency well after the worst is over.
He was conspicuously slow to respond when the bird flu crisis was raging, eventually visiting an affected slaughterhouse.
His visit to Lamma Island after the red tide disaster left Sok Kwu Wan fish farmers more aggrieved than ever, because 42 Agriculture and Fisheries vessels turned up to clean the bay prior to his arrival, and because during a 10-minute visit, he stayed aboard his Marine Department vessel, rather than seeing the devastation at first hand.
Since Mr Tung took office last July, the most persistent criticism of his leadership, from all sides of the spectrum, is that he appears out of touch with the public mood.
The Chief Executive's commitment to the Special Administrative Region, and his long hours of hard work are a matter of record.