It came a day after authorities announced the unprecedented complete cancellation of all arriving and departing flights over a massive rally. (Photo: AP)

Hong Kong: Authorities at Hong Kong airport on Tuesday cancelled all departing flights after pro-democracy protesters blocked the facility for a second day.

“Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted, all departure flights have been cancelled,” a statement on the airport website said.

“All passengers are advised to leave the terminal buildings as soon as possible.”

The statement did not immediately make clear if flights were still arriving.

An earlier statement announcing that check-ins had been suspended said that flights were still arriving.

The decision came after thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded into the airport for the second consecutive day and blocked passengers from reaching entrances to the departure area in both terminals.

It came a day after authorities announced the unprecedented complete cancellation of all arriving and departing flights over a massive rally. </s> Travelers wait at the check-in counters in the departure hall of the Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019. Protesters clogged the departure area at Hong Kong’s reopened airport Tuesday, a day after they forced one of the world’s busiest transport hubs to shut down entirely amid their calls for an independent inquiry into alleged police abuse. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on Hong Kong protests (all times local):

Hong Kong police say they have arrested five people for unlawful assembly, assaulting police officers and possessing weapons after a second day of mass protests at the city’s airport.

Officials said in a statement that some protesters detained, harassed and assaulted a traveler and a journalist, and obstructed ambulance workers from taking the two men to the hospital. They said other protesters attacked a police officer and snatched a baton from him.

A government statement condemned the acts, saying they “have overstepped the bottom line of a civilized society.”

Hong Kong’s busy airport was the latest setting for large-scale pro-democracy protests that have rocked the city for months, with authorities canceling dozens of flights on Monday and Tuesday. Demonstrators say they plan to return to the airport Wednesday.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that U.S. intelligence believes that the Chinese government is moving troops to its border with Hong Kong.

Trump also tweeted that “Everyone should be calm and safe!” He provided no additional details.

Riot police briefly clashed with pro-democracy protesters outside the Hong Kong Airport for the second day on Tuesday though calm returned to the airport in the early hours of Wednesday.

The airport disruptions are an escalation of a summer of demonstrations against what some in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of freedoms. The protests have in recent weeks turned to focus on police brutality against demonstrators.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump called the Hong Kong protests a “very tricky situation,” saying he hopes no one is injured or killed.

Most protesters and police have left Hong Kong Airport after a second day of demonstrations that caused mass flight cancellations at the busy transport hub.

Calm returned to the airport in the early hours of Wednesday after riot police briefly clashed with pro-democracy protesters outside the building earlier Tuesday night. Officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons briefly tried to enter the terminal, while protesters used luggage carts to barricade entrances.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled Tuesday and Monday and passengers have been forced to stay in the city while airlines tried to find other ways to get them to their destinations.

The airport disruptions are an escalation of a summer of demonstrations against what some in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of freedoms. The protests have in recent weeks turned to focus on police brutality against demonstrators.

China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva is lashing out at the U.N. human rights office, accusing its spokesman of making a “wrongful statement” about protests in Hong Kong that “sends the wrong signal to the violent criminal offenders.”

In an e-mail to reporters, the mission took issue with comments Tuesday by spokesman Rupert Colville, who expressed concerns about the “escalation of violence” and the firing of tear gas canisters by security forces into crowded areas.

The mission lamented how the demonstrations in Hong Kong “have recently taken a violent turn as some radical mobsters deliberately perpetuated violence … Their behavior has nothing to do with peaceful demonstration.”

It urged the human rights office to “stop interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong.”

Emergency officials have taken an injured mainland Chinese man away from Hong Kong’s airport after angry protesters who accused him of being a Chinese undercover agent tied up his hands and tried to beat him up.

The man was pictured with his hands bound with cable ties, lying in a fetal position on the ground surrounded by a crowd of protesters as demonstrations continued at the airport for a second day and turned tense late Tuesday. Some tried to kick and hit him while others tried to hold the crowd back. Protesters said they detained him because he wore a press vest and claimed to be a reporter, but a mainland Chinese ID card was found in his belongings.

The chaotic situation eventually ended when protesters allowed ambulance workers to take the man away on a stretcher.

Pro-democracy protesters have been sensitive to police infiltration after activists were arrested by officers dressed just like them. Police have acknowledged that they use decoy officers in some operations.

Chaos has broken out at Hong Kong’s airport as riot police move into the terminal to confront protesters who shut down operations at the busy transport hub for two straight days.

Officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons clashed with protesters who used luggage carts to barricade entrances to the airport terminal on Tuesday night.

Police took several people into a police van waiting at the entrance to the airport’s arrivals hall.

Police said they tried to help ambulance officers reach an injured man whom protesters had detained on suspicion of being an undercover agent.

Protesters also detained a second man whom they suspected of being an undercover agent. After emptying out his belongings, they found a blue T-shirt that has been worn by pro-Beijing supporters that they said was evidence he was a spy.

At least three concerts by overseas performers have been canceled in Hong Kong as protesters forced the city’s airport to suspend operations for a second day.

K-pop star Kang Daniel and Scottish band CHVRCHES both announced Tuesday that they are calling off upcoming events. American singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin canceled an upcoming concert late Monday.

Kang’s management office said the cancellation of a fan meeting scheduled for Sunday was because of safety concerns related to the protests, while CHVRCHES blamed “unforeseen circumstances.”

The airport protests are the latest escalation in a summer of demonstrations aimed at what many in Hong Kong see as an increasing erosion of their freedoms.

The United Nations’ top human rights official has condemned violence in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests and called on the authorities and protesters to solve their dispute peacefully.

A spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she was concerned by the recent “escalation of violence.”

Rupert Colville said the UN Human Rights Office had also reviewed credible evidence that police are using “less-lethal weapons in ways that are prohibited by international norms.”

Tactics by Hong Kong police have become a major issue for protesters.

The rights office urged Hong Kong authorities to investigate examples of officers firing tear gas canisters into crowded, enclosed areas and directly at individual protesters.

Hong Kong’s airport has cancelled all remaining departing flights for the second day after protesters took over the terminals.

The airport authority announced early Tuesday evening that check-in services for departing flights were suspended as of 4:30 p.m. Other departing flights that have completed the process will continue to operate.

It said it did not expect arriving flights to be affected, though dozens of arriving flights were already cancelled.

The authority advised the public not to come to the airport.

Some flights were able to depart and land earlier Tuesday, a day after more than 200 flights were canceled.

The airport’s arrival and departure halls were blocked by thousands of protesters who were gathered in the airport for the fifth consecutive day. They are calling for democratic reforms and an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.

Thousands of protesters have returned to the Hong Kong airport and are once more threatening regular airline operations just one day after they prompted a full shutdown of one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.

After filling up the arrivals hall, demonstrators are now streaming into the departures area despite increased security measures designed to keep them out.

The black-clad protesters held up signs to appeal to travelers from mainland China and other parts of the world. “Democracy is a good thing,” said one sign in Simplified Chinese characters, which are used in mainland China instead of the Traditional Chinese script of Hong Kong.

One entrance to the immigration area was entirely blocked by protesters and arriving passengers struggled to get through.

More than 100 flights were cancelled as of Tuesday afternoon. Some flights were taking off and going through check-in as airlines worked through the backlog.

Flights have been taking off from the Hong Kong airport as it works through a backlog of cancelled flights while a few thousand protesters have once again occupied the arrival hall.

Some flights Tuesday were still cancelled. It was not immediately clear whether they were affected by the current demonstration, as occurred Monday, when about 200 flights were cancelled and airport completely shut down amid a mass protest.

The airport authority said they were implementing flight rescheduling Tuesday. The authority urged passengers “to use public transportation and allow sufficient time to go to the airport.”

Hong Kong has seen two months of anti-government demonstrations that have increasingly impacted day-to-day operations in the financial hub.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has defended law enforcement actions after protesters prompted an airport shutdown with calls to investigate alleged police brutality.

Airlines early Tuesday were checking in passengers for flights, including those cancelled the previous day because thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators had packed into the airport’s main terminal.

Demonstrators have called for an independent inquiry into what they call the police’s abuse of power and negligence. Some protesters thrown bricks, eggs and flaming objects at police stations.

Lam told reporters that dialogue would only begin when the violence stopped. She reiterated her support for the police and said they have had to make on-the-spot decisions under difficult circumstances, using “the lowest level of force.”

One of the world’s busiest airports was struggling to reopen the morning after thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators crowded into Hong Kong’s main terminal and forced flight cancellations.

Passengers were checking in for flights Tuesday morning in a sign operations were returning to normal, although protesters have shown no sign of letting up on their campaign to force Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s administration to respond to their demands.

About 200 flights had been canceled.

Passengers unable to leave on Monday were among those crowding in the departure hall. </s> Hong Kong's airport reopened on Tuesday but its administrator warned that flight movements would still be affected, after China said protests that have swept the city over the past two months had begun to show the "sprouts of terrorism".

Some flights resumed but many others were canceled. Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said it had canceled more than 200 flights into and out of the airport on Tuesday, according to its website.

The airport, one of the world's busiest, blamed demonstrators for halting flights on Monday. The exact trigger for the closure was not clear because protesters occupying the arrivals hall since Friday have been peaceful.

The airport was the latest focus of protests that began two months ago. The sometimes violent protests began as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China but have grown into wider calls for democracy.

The protests have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with one of his biggest challenges since he came to power in 2012.

Analysts said the disruptions and protests in Hong Kong were unsettling Asian stock markets, and the Hang Seng index opened 1.1% lower on Tuesday.

Embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the "lawbreaking activities in the name of freedom" were damaging the rule of law and that it could take a long time for the city to recover from the protests.

The protesters have been switching tactics in recent weeks and more than a dozen sit-ins were planned at hospitals in the city, according to social media posts on Tuesday.

Most of the protesters had left the airport shortly after midnight, with about 50 still there on Tuesday morning.

"Hong Kong International Airport will implement flight rescheduling today with flight movements expected to be affected," said a notice published on the Hong Kong International Airport's official mobile app on Tuesday.

Cathay Pacific said it would only operate a limited number of flights for connecting passengers. Airport flight boards showed the likes of Emirates Airline and Virgin Australia had flights scheduled to depart on Tuesday.

Critical juncture

China said on Monday protests in the Asian financial hub had reached a critical juncture.

"Protesters have been frequently using extremely dangerous tools to attack the police in recent days, constituting serious crimes with sprouts of terrorism emerging," said Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office spokesman Yang Guang in Beijing.

Some Hong Kong legal experts say the official description of terrorism could lead to the use of anti-terror laws.

Protesters in turn say police have used excessive force, firing tear gas and bean bag pellets at close range, and are calling for an independent inquiry into the crisis.

Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement enshrining some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997.

Hong Kong's airport is the 8th busiest by passenger traffic, handling 73 million passengers a year.

Shares in Cathay, which fell to a 10-year-low on Monday, continued their slide on Tuesday and were down more than 4.5% in morning trading.

The company is caught in crosswinds between Beijing and pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong after the Chinese civil aviation regulator demanded it suspend personnel who engaged in or supported the protests from staffing flights into its airspace.

The closure of the Hong Kong airport added to that pressure. A Reuters reporter saw more than 100 travellers queuing up at Cathay's ticketing counter early on Tuesday.

"The way to handle last night was chaotic," said Kate Flannery from Australia, who was traveling to Paris. "The airport authority didn't deal with the situation. I felt like I was walking around and nobody gave us information."

A Cathay customer officer at the airport, who declined to provide his name, said nearly all the airline's flights were full.

"It is possible that the airport authority will cancel more flights as they need to control the air traffic movements at the Hong Kong International Airport," he said.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates. </s> The Latest: Lam says Hong Kong on verge of danger

HONG KONG (AP) — The Latest on the protests in Hong Kong (all times local):

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says recent protests have pushed the city to the "verge of a very dangerous situation" but the government will be resolute in ensuring public order.

A tired looking Lam delivered the remarks at a news conference Monday morning that follows weeks of daily marches and demonstrations that have frequently devolved into violent confrontations, with police deploying tear gas rubber bullets and other crowd control measures.

Lam said the violence and disruptions were creating anxiety among citizens and now was the time to set aside differences and "rally together."

Protesters were blocking trains during the morning rush hour and called for a citywide strike by workers. More than 100 flights were cancelled at the city's airport, and Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.

Hong Kong's leader will speak to the media as protesters block morning trains and call for a citywide strike by workers.

The office of Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday.

The strike has already taken hold at the airport, where 100 flights have been cancelled. Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.

Protesters used a now-familiar tactic of blocking train doors from closing to disrupt the morning commute.

The actions follow a weekend of clashes between protesters and police. The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong media say more than 100 flights have been cancelled at the city's airport as a general strike called to support pro-democracy protests gets underway.

Public broadcaster RTHK said Monday that domestic carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines were the most affected.

A citywide strike and demonstrations in seven districts in Hong Kong have been called for Monday afternoon. They follow a weekend of clashes with police on the streets.

Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature.

Protesters in Hong Kong have snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations.

Subway and train operator MTR said Monday that service had been partially suspended on four lines because of a number of door obstruction incidents.

It's the third time in three weeks that protesters have disrupted train service. The action followed a weekend of clashes with police on the streets and ahead of a general strike and more demonstrations called for Monday afternoon.

Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature. </s> HONG KONG (AP) — Riot police clashed briefly with pro-democracy protesters at Hong Kong’s airport Tuesday night in a chaotic end to a second day of demonstrations that caused mass cancellations and disruptions at the Chinese city’s busy transport hub.

Calm eventually returned, with most of the protesters leaving the airport hours after officers armed with pepper spray and swinging batons tried to enter the terminal, fighting with demonstrators who barricaded entrances with luggage carts. Protesters said they planned to return to the airport early Wednesday.

The burst of violence also included protesters beating at least two men they suspected of being undercover agents and came the same day Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader warned that the demonstrators had pushed events onto a “path of no return,” highlighting the hardening positions on both sides.

Police took away several people they caught outside the arrival hall and eventually retreated.

Police said they were trying to help ambulance officers reach an injured man whom protesters had cornered and detained for about two hours on suspicion of being an undercover agent from mainland China. Rescuers eventually succeeded in getting him to an ambulance, local broadcaster RTHK reported.

Protesters then detained and beat a second man whom they also suspected of being an undercover agent.

After a brief period when planes were able to take off and land early in the day, authorities were forced to cancel the remaining flights. The airport authority suspended check-in services for departing flights as of 4:30 p.m., with departing flights that had completed the process able to continue to operate.

The airport’s website showed at least 120 cancellations and it advised people not to come to the airport, one of the world’s busiest.

More than 200 flights were canceled Monday and passengers were forced to stay in the city while airlines tried to find other ways to get them to their destinations.

The airport disruptions escalated a summer of demonstrations aimed at what many Hong Kong residents see as an increasing erosion of the freedoms they were promised in 1997 when Communist Party-ruled mainland China took over what had been a British colony.

The protests have built on an opposition movement that shut down much of the city for seven weeks in 2014 before it eventually fizzled and its leaders were jailed on public disturbance charges.

The central government in Beijing has ominously characterized the current protest movement as something approaching “terrorism” that poses an “existential threat” to citizens.

While Beijing tends to define terrorism broadly, extending it especially to nonviolent movements opposing government policies in minority regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang, its use of the term in relation to Hong Kong raised the prospect of greater violence and the possible suspension of legal rights for those detained.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the instability, chaos and violence have placed the city on a “path of no return.”

The black-clad demonstrators have shown no sign of letting up on their campaign to force Lam’s administration to respond to their demands, including that she step down and scrap proposed legislation under which some suspects could be sent to mainland China, where critics say they could face torture and unfair or politically charged trials.

Lam has rejected calls for dialogue, part of what analysts say is a strategy to wear down the opposition movement through police action while prompting demonstrators to take more violent and extreme actions that will turn the public against them. At the airport, protesters discussed among themselves whether they should simply block all access to the facility.

Meanwhile, paramilitary police were assembling across the border in the city of Shenzhen for exercises that some saw as a threat to increase force against the mostly young protesters who have turned out by the thousands in the past 10 weeks.

President Donald Trump tweeted that U.S. intelligence believes that the Chinese government is moving troops to its border with Hong Kong. He also tweeted that “Everyone should be calm and safe!” He provided no additional details.

While China has yet to threaten using the army — as it did against pro-democracy protesters in Beijing in 1989 — the Shenzhen exercises were a sign of its ability to crush the demonstrations, even at the cost to Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe haven for business and international exchange. Images on the internet showed armored personnel carriers belonging to the People’s Armed Police driving in a convoy Monday toward the site of the exercises.

The People’s Liberation Army has a garrison in Hong Kong, which recently released a video showing its units combating actors dressed as protesters. Hong Kong police also put on a display of water cannons.

Police have arrested more than 700 protesters since June and say they have infiltrated the movement, leading to concerns that officers were inciting violence. Scores of protesters and police have been hurt, including a woman reported to have had an eye ruptured by a beanbag round fired by police during clashes Sunday.

Police said they are investigating the incident, which protesters have taken up as a rallying cry. Some in the airport occupation wore gauze bandages dyed with artificial blood over one eye.

The U.N.’s top human rights official condemned violence around the protests and urged both sides to settle their dispute through “open and inclusive dialogue.”

Rupert Colville, spokesman for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, said her office had reviewed evidence that police are using “less-lethal weapons in ways that are prohibited by international norms and standards.” That includes firing tear gas canisters into crowded, enclosed areas and directly at individuals, “creating a considerable risk of death or serious injury,” Colville said in a statement.

In a sign of rising tensions, protesters in the evening detained two men they claimed were undercover police from mainland China. They tied his wrists with plastic strips and poured water over his head. Airport security guards did not appear to be able to stop the crowd.

Sally Tong, an 18-year-old protester, said they needed to hold him as evidence that mainland Chinese authorities are in Hong Kong to monitor the demonstrations. Tong said the man was dressed in black and wore a mask to look like one of them.

“We want to keep him here and investigate,” Tong said. Protesters said the man dropped his wallet when he was running away from them, and they found ID cards from mainland China and also found his name on a list of police officers online.

Protesters also bound the hands of the second man they captured. They grew enraged when they emptied out his belongings and found a blue T-shirt that has been worn by pro-Beijing supporters, which they said was evidence he was a spy.

Protesters said they detained him because he wore a press vest and claimed to be a reporter. They used a nearby U.S. flag to beat the man, who was on the floor in a fetal position, while journalists and pro-democracy lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki, who is a doctor, tried to stop them. The chaotic situation eventually ended when protesters allowed ambulance workers to take the man away on a stretcher.

The Associated Press could not independently verify their identities.

After two months, the protests have become increasingly divisive and prompted clashes across the city.

Demonstrators have recently focused on demanding an independent inquiry into what they call police abuse of power and negligence. That followed reports and video of violent arrests and injuries sustained by protesters.

Some protesters have thrown objects and police, and officials say several officers have suffered injuries.

Lam said dialogue would only begin when the violence ended. She reiterated her support for police and said they have had to make quick decisions under difficult circumstances, using “the lowest level of force.”

“After the violence has been stopped, and the chaotic situation that we are seeing could subside,” Lam said. “I as the chief executive will be responsible to rebuild Hong Kong’s economy … to help Hong Kong to move on.”

She did not elaborate on what conciliatory steps her government will take.

The early protests were in neighborhoods near government offices. However, the airport protest has had a direct impact on business travel and tourism. Analysts said it could make foreign investors think twice about Hong Kong, which has long prided itself as being Asia’s leading business city with convenient regional air links.

“I don’t think I will ever fly to Hong Kong again,” said Kerry Dickinson of South Africa.

The protesters held signs in Chinese and English to appeal to travelers from mainland China and elsewhere. “Democracy is a good thing,” said one sign in simplified Chinese characters.

Adding to the protesters’ anger, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways told employees the carrier has a “zero tolerance” for them joining “illegal protests” and warned they could be fired. </s> Police and protesters have clashed at Hong Kong's international airport after flights were disrupted for a second day as the political crisis in the former British colony deepened.

In Washington, US President Donald Trump said the Chinese government was moving troops to the border with Hong Kong, and urged calm.

Trump said the situation in Hong Kong was tricky but he hoped it would work out for everybody, including China, and "for liberty" without anyone getting hurt or killed.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned that the city risked being "smashed to pieces".

Demonstrators who have been protesting for the past nine weeks against Beijing's growing influence in the special administrative region targeted the international airport for a second day on Tuesday.

Thousands of black-clad protesters jammed the terminal chanting, singing and waving banners.

Scuffles broke out in the evening after an injured man was held by a group of protesters.

Some claimed he was an undercover mainland Chinese agent and initially refused to let him leave.

Medics, however, bundled him onto a stretcher and forced their way through jeering throngs to an ambulance.

Several police vehicles were blocked by protesters and riot police moved in amid chaotic scenes, using pepper spray to keep people back.

A policeman pulled out a gun at one point.
• Travel advisory: Australians warned to exercise 'high degree of caution' in Hong Kong

Protesters also barricaded some passageways in the airport with luggage trolleys, metal barriers and other objects.

Others clambered onto check-in counters as the protesters appeared to control part of the airport for a short while. At least two protesters were taken away by police.

Another mainland Chinese man was held and tied down by protesters at the airport after they thought he was posing as a reporter.

The editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times newspaper, Hu Xijin, tweeted that the man was a journalist with the paper. He was later taken away by ambulance.

The situation calmed down after a few hours without the violence worsening, and the crowds thinned out.

Local media reported that an injunction had been issued by a local court to clear the airport of protesters.

The action followed an unprecedented shutdown of the airport on Monday.

Hong Kong's Airport Authority said operations had been "seriously disrupted" on Tuesday and departing passengers had been unable to reach immigration counters.

The weeks of protests began as opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China, and have swelled into wider calls for democracy.

Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from Britain in 1997.

The increasingly violent clashes between police and protesters have roiled the Asian financial hub. Hong Kong's stockmarket fell to a seven-month low on Tuesday.

The United Nations human rights commissioner Michele Bachelet urged Hong Kong authorities to exercise restraint and investigate evidence of their forces firing tear gas at protesters in ways banned under international law.

China responded by saying her comments sent the wrong signal to "violent criminal offenders". </s> Protests at Hong Kong's airport on Tuesday caused a second day of travel mayhem at one of the world's busiest air-transport hubs, further threatening the city's reputation as a stable place for doing business.

Travelers trying to catch their flights were met with an announcement that check-in was suspended from late afternoon because terminal operations were "seriously disrupted," causing at least 120 flights to be cancelled.

It's a sharp contrast to the normal experience at Hong Kong's sleek and modern airport, where check-in and boarding are usually carried out quickly and efficiently.

Analysts said the disruption could make foreign investors think twice about setting up shop in Hong Kong, which has long prided itself as being Asia's leading business city with convenient air links for executives traveling across the region.

Hong Kong has long sold itself to the international business community as a window into mainland China and the airport is one of the most visible symbols of its status as a global hub. If the disruption drags on, "that reputation will take a bit of a beating up," said Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy, a consultancy.

"It becomes more difficult to think, 'Well yeah, Hong Kong's a stable place, I should be doing business or I should be setting up my regional office there.'"

The protests began more than two months ago against a China extradition bill and have expanded into calls for democratic reforms. Hong Kong authorities have denounced the demonstrators as rioters.

Adding to the protesters' anger, Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways told employees in a memo that the carrier has a "zero tolerance" for employees joining "illegal protests" and warned disciplinary consequences could include being fired.

A Cathay Pacific pilot was charged with rioting and two ground staff fired for misconduct, the airline said by email Monday. The moves came after the Chinese government warned Cathay Pacific, one of Hong Kong's best-known international brands, to bar its staff from participating in the protests — an escalation into the territory's business affairs.

After weeks of neighborhood confrontations with police, the protesters' decision this week to take their movement to the airport makes a more direct economic impact on business travel and tourism.

Hong Kong officials warned that the chaos risked hurting the city's reputation as a travel and transport center.

"There is a serious impact on the operation of the airport," said Hong' Kong's second-highest ranking government official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung. "We are an international airport hub and it is also the trunk of Hong Kong's business."

The International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, said "the cancellation of flights will be felt in markets well beyond Hong Kong."

There were already signs business travelers were looking elsewhere.

"Some customers have shown a decline in travel bookings to Hong Kong in June and July, as a number of countries have issued safety advisories urging travelers to exercise caution," said Julian Walker, a spokesman for travel management platform CWT, formerly known as Carlson Wagonlit.

It was too early to know how the disruption to the airport had affected bookings, he said.

Hong Kong's international airport was built on land reclaimed from the sea and opened in 1998, replacing an aging airstrip in the middle of the crowded, mountainous city.

The city's foreign investment promotion agency, InvestHK, boasts that Asia's key markets are "less than four hours away," a big selling point for the 8,000 international companies that have set up sales, operations and research and development centers in Hong Kong. More than 100 airlines allow "easy and efficient travel" to 190 locations, the agency says.

The airport was the world's eighth busiest airport last year, but came second in terms of international passengers, with 75.3 million passing through in 2018, according to preliminary data from Airports Council International.

It's also the world's busiest air cargo hub, driven partly by demand from wealthy countries for Asian exports. More than 5 million metric tons of air freight passed through the airport last year, the council said.

"The situation in Hong Kong has now become risky in terms of potential consequences, but also threatens the reputation of the city as a safe and stable business hub served by a world class airport," said Loizos Heracleous, a professor of strategy at Britain's Warwick University.

DaFene Brown had been due to fly home to Atlanta, Georgia, via Shanghai on Monday night when his flight was cancelled.

His airline rescheduled the flight for Wednesday and Brown said he hoped he had enough money to last until he departs.

"I had not budgeted for this sort of extensive delay and Hong Kong is not a cheap city by any means," Brown said.

Brown, 26, was also worried that he may not be able to start a new job teaching English in South Korea. His plan was to tie up some loose ends at home before heading to Seoul.

"I am a bit nervous about how long the protests will last and if the airlines will have any more delays," he said. </s> At least 100 flights were cancelled and subway service widely disrupted in Hong Kong on Monday as a pro-democracy movement called for a general strike. Airport express train service was also suspended.

Cathay Pacific and other domestic carriers such as Hong Kong Airlines were the most affected by the flight cancellations, public broadcaster RTHK said.

A citywide strike and demonstrations in seven districts in Hong Kong have been called for Monday afternoon. They follow a weekend of clashes with police on the streets.

Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature. Protesters also want full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Protesters snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations.

Subway and train operator MTR said Monday that service had been partially suspended on five lines because of a number of door obstruction incidents.

It's the third time in three weeks that protesters have disrupted train service.

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam called a morning news conference ahead of what could be a chaotic day in her city. </s> Immigration counters at Hong Kong airport's main terminal have shut down after protesters blocked the entrance

HONG KONG (AP) — Immigration counters at Hong Kong airport's main terminal have shut down after protesters blocked the entrance.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong cancels all departure flights from Hong Kong, effectively locking down Hong Kong International Airport amid ongoing unrest.