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Updated: Aug 12, 2019 23:07 IST

Hong Kong’s airport suspended flight operations for at least 12 hours on Monday evening, with authorities blaming demonstrators for the disruption of one of the world’s busiest terminals.

- 204,000 -

Passengers arriving or leaving from the airport daily on average

- 1,171 -

Flights landing or taking off daily on an average

- 5 million metric tonnes -

Cargo handled by the airport in 2018, more than any other in the world

- 8/20 -

Among world’s busiest airports

- 5,000 -

Protesters estimated to have gathered at the airport

-- Worst-hit --

Base airlines: Airlines such as Cathay Pacific, which is based in Hong Kong, were hit the hardest. Cathay itself cancelled almost 100 flights in the 12-hour period.

Transit passengers: Hong Kong, in addition to Singapore and Shanghai, is among key changeover airports for those flying between Asia-Pacific, Oceania and the Mid-East and Europe.

STRANDED

Wires reported cases of people who were stuck at Hong Kong after their connecting flights were cancelled. Joydeep Chakravarti, a software engineer on a connecting flight to San Francisco, was asked to leave the airport during a layover after his flight was cancelled. “I don’t know what’s out there, so I don’t want to leave. I didn’t make any plans for Hong Kong,” said Chakravarti, who was on a Singapore Airlines flight, AP reported.

BUBBLING ANGER

*Monday’s escalation of protests came after a young medic was hospitalised after she was hit by a pellet round in the right eye. Some of the protesters at the airport carried placards demanding “an eye back”.

*At the same time, a Chinese official in Beijing warned signs of “terrorism” were emerging. China’s People’s Armed Police also assembled in the neighbouring city of Shenzhen for exercises, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said.

*The protests began in opposition to a bill allowing extradition to the mainland of China but have widened to highlight other grievances, drawing broad support.

*Over the weekend, as demonstrators threw up barricades across the city, police shot volleys of tear gas into crowded underground train stations for the first time.