Hong Kong airport occupied by crowd of protesters

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hundreds of pro-democracy activists have begun what is intended to be a three-day occupation of Hong Kong's international airport, part of a series of demonstrations marking the tenth straight weekend of protests across the Asian financial hub, CNN reports.

Chanting "Hong Kong people, add oil," and carrying signs such as "all you can eat tear gas available in 13 districts," protesters gathered from midday Friday, August 9 in the arrivals hall of the airport's main terminal.

The move is the latest challenge to the government's apparent strategy of waiting out the ongoing political crisis and comes just days after a citywide strike shut down flights and trains causing travel chaos. The crowd at the airport, which appeared to number in the high hundreds, included many older Hong Kongers, in contrast to the young people who have been at the forefront of recent street battles with police.

Protesters held signs in English and Chinese and had printed leaflets in multiple different languages explaining the causes and demands of the demonstrations for arriving tourists.

Hong Kong's airport is one of the busiest in the world, handling 1,100 passenger and cargo flights daily, with services between the city and about 200 international destinations.

In a statement, the city's Airport Authority said that additional security would be deployed on site Friday to assist passengers and airport staff. In order to minimize disruption to flights, only departing passengers with a valid tickets or boarding passes and travel documents would be allowed to enter to the check-in aisles at Terminal 1, said the statement.