Hong Kong airport shutdown was necessary as the situation left management with no other choice, Allan Zeman says

The Airport Authority board member said that the decision to close the hub was taken by management and the board members were appraised of the situation via a website for members

Zeman said the airport’s reputation, built over so many years, has been damaged

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A woman attempts to navigate through a crowd of anti-government protesters inside the departure hall of Hong Kong International Airport, on Monday. The protests forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights over two days. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 7:26pm, 15 Aug 2019Updated: 7:53pm, 15 Aug 2019

The decision to shut down Hong Kong International Airport was taken by management and approved by the government, according to Allan Zeman, a prominent businessman and one of 17 board members of the Airport Authority.

Noting that board members were kept appraised of the situation via a board members’ website, he said that management had no other choice but to shut down one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs because of safety concerns.

The decision to stop flights was taken because anti-government protesters had suddenly switched from the arrivals hall, where they were supposed to stay, and moved to the departures area and harassed travellers, Zeman said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.

“It was a very costly decision ... to cancel flights, but it’s the reputation. It takes so many years to build up the reputation [to be] one of the top airports in the world,” Zeman said, adding that images of protesters and violence at the airport were beamed around the world reflected poorly on the city. Two Chinese journalists were surrounded and attacked by protesters, who subsequently apologised for their actions.

Prominent entrepreneur Allan Zeman is a board member of Airport Authority, which is responsible for the operation and development of Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Winson Wong

“Obviously, that doesn’t resonate very well in China.”

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