Hong Kong airport cancels almost all flights amid large, enduring protests

Protesters bring Hong Kong airport to a halt — (Image credit: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Hong Kong International Airport, one of the world's busiest, announced Monday that it has canceled all departing flights that have not checked in, blaming protesters who have flooded the airport and "seriously disrupted" air travel. All arriving flights will be allowed to land, the airport said. Thousands of new protesters crowded the airport's main terminal Monday after police were filmed violently cracking down on protesters Sunday night, rallying around a woman caught bleeding from her eyes, apparently after being shot with bean bag rounds at close range.

The Hong Kong Free Press website, which captured the woman with bleeding eyes, also filmed police kneeling on a black-clad protester, pushing his face into a pool of his own blood. Police are clearly becoming more aggressive. As protesters gathered around Hong Kong this weekend, as they have every weekend since Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam introduced a since-suspended bill two months ago that would curb Hong Kong's independent judiciary, police introduced new tactics, including dressing up as protesters to arrest suspects and sow discord among the demonstrators and deploying specially armored water cannon trucks. They also fired tear gas and less-than-lethal ammunition at protesters.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.