Next time you book an air ticket out of Hong Kong, ask your travel agent what he or she thinks of Chek Lap Kok. Then stand back. You're likely to catch a blast as red hot as the exhaust from a jumbo jet.
Travel agents are not happy. It seems these core professionals of the tourism industry were never directly consulted at any stage about airport planning.
Little wonder there have been so many complaints. How can you build such a facility without direct, close personal consultation and input from the very people who are going to use it? Travel agents should be accustomed to being ignored. It happens often. They are the lifeblood of the tourism industry, but are frequently overlooked.
Nobody can argue that the opening of Chek Lap Kok was a disgraceful shambles. Since then, the airport has settled into some sort of order. Travellers can come and go without too much hassle. There are still numerous complaints about toilets, catering, transport and signage, but basically the airport is working effectively.
It's being fine-tuned to iron out defects which should have been obvious before it opened.
There has also been a massive drive to persuade the world, and Hong Kongers, that all is now well, that the airport, finally, is living up to the ballyhoo that preceded its opening. There were a few minor problems, this message says soothingly. But worry not; all is now well.