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Masked protesters wreak havoc on Hong Kong airport and trash railway station, forcing desperate travellers to head to city on foot
- Protesters prevented from entering airport by a court injunction cause chaos outside the terminal building and leave transport in disarray
- Sunday’s protests followed a night of violence after tens of thousands joined an illegal march that descended into pitched battles with riot police
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Anti-government protesters brought chaos and vandalism to Hong Kong’s international airport again on Sunday, blocking access routes, forcing travellers to walk part of the way to the city, crippling train services and prompting a shutdown of the Tung Chung line by trashing the station.
Their action, a “stress-test” campaign they called “suck with you” to force the government to respond to their demands after months of sustained demonstrations, caused airlines to delay and cancel flights, and left travellers with few options of getting to the airport or leaving it for the city.
With transport in disarray as masked radicals prevented from entering the airport by a court injunction went on the rampage outside the terminal building, desperate travellers arriving in Hong Kong were forced to walk on the main road, lugging their suitcases all the way to Tung Chung and then onto the North Lantau Highway to Sunny Bay.
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The distance from the airport to Tung Chung is about 5km (3 miles), while Sunny Bay is a further 13km (8 miles) away from the town.
Alongside these travellers were black-shirted protesters who had earlier caused mayhem outside the airport. Others managed to get onto airport buses that were leaving, but were now stuck on the Tsing Ma Bridge.
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The government issued a statement late on Sunday that severely condemned the vandalism and illegal acts of the protesters.
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