Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport

From CNN Financial News Correspondent Lisa Barron

HONG KONG (CNN) -- Hong Kong's new multi-billion dollar airport suffered another setback Wednesday when a Cathay Pacific flight from Paris plowed into an airbridge after landing.

A Cathay pilot told CNN that the laser guidance system that was supposed to signal the plane to stop failed to do so. No one was injured in the accident, but part of the airbridge -- which was blocked from reporters' view -- and one of the plane's engines were badly damaged.

The latest incident is potentially the most serious problem in a long list of troubles at the US$20 billion Chek Lap Kok, which opened July 6 amid a flurry of computer and human problems that caused delays and complaints about service from frustrated passengers.

"This is again (is) part of the little hiccups that went wrong including toilets without water and phones that (are) not working," said legislator James Tien. "All the little nitty gritties seems to be a problem, together with some major problems."

Passenger service wasn't the only area disrupted. The main cargo handler, HACTL, said Wednesday that full freight operations -- suspended almost immediately after the airport's opening -- won't be possible until of August, well beyond their target reopening by July 19.

Air freight movements into and out of Hong Kong have been cut in half since the opening of Chek Lap Kok, when computer problems forced the cargo operator to move some operations back to Kai Tak, the old airport. Hong Kong financial secretary Donald Tsang estimated the foul-up would shave a tenth of a percent off Hong Kong's gross domestic product, or up to HK$1.3 billion ($US167 million).

But economists said the real figure is even higher. Andy Xie of Morgan Stanley said the direct impact of the airport problems could reach HK$4.5 billion (US$580.5 million) of the gross domestic product.

And that figure does not include the ripple effect on the rest of the economy, or the impact on tourism, which is already down more than 20 percent this year.

Two official investigations into the Chek Lap Kok fiasco are already underway, but legislators say that's not enough and have set up their own investigation to find out what went wrong and just who is to blame.