Transport to and from Hong Kong International Airport was disrupted for hours as protesters barricaded roads, leaving traffic gridlocked and stranding hundreds of tourists at the terminal.

The protests last night followed a night of violent clashes with police Saturday, during which protesters threw petrol bombs and set fires and police responded with water cannon and tear gas.

Police were also seen rushing into a subway station to make dozens of arrests.It was the 13th consecutive weekend of protests in Hong Kong, concluding days of escalation in which a number of activist leaders and lawmakers were arrested, and speculation heightened about China's strategy toward the city's pro-democracy movement.

Riot police stand guard at an entrance of the airport in Hong Kong yesterday. (AP)

Gridlock at airport

Protesters planned to "stress test" airport transportation routes yesterday.

By that afternoon, most protesters had not gotten close to the airport terminals - a court injunction and heavy police presence was put in place following clashes there last month -- but did succeed in blocking roads and and prompting the city's subway operator to suspend its airport service.

All transport links to and from the airport were cut off for hours, until a large contingent of riot police arrived and cleared roads leading to the city.

Photos had shown extreme traffic congestion on a key bridge leading to the airport, with travellers and airport staff forced to get out and walk. As police advanced, hundreds of protesters fled to Tung Chung, the nearest town and subway stop.

A protester breaks a ticket vending machine at Tung Chung station, near the Hong Kong International Airport. (AP)

There they built more barricades to delay police and vandalised the subway station after service was halted. Protesters building a barricade nearby told CNN they were trying to stop police travelling to the airport in order to give others more time to leave.

By the time police arrived in the town, almost all protesters had left, taking the last trains out or boarding buses to other parts of the city. Others walked along the highway towards the city.

Disruptions expected

After three months of protest, Hong Kong's political crisis appears increasingly intractable. Chief executive Carrie Lam has refused to rule out invoking broad emergency powers, and Reuters reported this week that Beijing had quashed Lam's proposal to concede to some of the protest movement's five demands.

The previous day's protests ended bitterly, with hundreds gathered in anger outside Mong Kok police station.

At least 51 people were arrested late that night, with dozens rounded up in Kowloon's Prince Edward subway station. Graphic video footage showed police swinging batons in the station, landing some blows on individuals already lying on the ground.

Protesters gather outside the Hong Kong Airport after trains services were suspended. (AP)

Police said Sunday that the subway clearance operation was a response to citizen reports of disruption and vandalisation, and that those arrested had been accused of participating in an unauthorised assembly and "criminal damage" among other charges.

Earlier on Saturday, protesters throwing petrol bombs and setting fires had been quickly met with tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon - a suggestion that Hong Kong police's patience is waning after a long summer of conflict.