Hong Kong’s airport authority has cancelled all arriving and departing flights after anti-government protesters occupied large swathes of the main terminal.
As operations have been "seriously disrupted, all flights have been cancelled," the airport said in a statement. Authorities have advised passengers to leave the terminal as soon as possible and contact their airlines to make alternative flight arrangements.
The airport website shows that some early evening departures, for which passengers had already checked-in, were allowed to proceed. But all flights scheduled to depart at 18:00 local time or later were cancelled.
Most arrival flights that have already taken off on their way to Hong Kong have been allowed to proceed, although yet-to-take-off flights to Hong Kong have been cancelled, including several long-haul flights from Europe.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific says the cancellation period will extend to the morning of 13 August, and has therefore advised passengers not to travel to their airport, noting that in-town check-in services have also been suspended.
Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in the airport in recent days as part of an effort to disrupt traffic in the city.
The fourth paragraph has been updated to reflect the changing situation.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
