Hong Kong was paralysed today with more than 200 flights cancelled and widespread disruption to subway services after anti-government protesters called for a citywide strike and afternoon rallies in several neighbourhoods.

Protesters stopped train doors from closing by lying on the ground and or jamming them with umbrellas or fire extinguishers. Scuffles broke out in some crowded train stations.

Other demonstrators flooded at least 15 roads including main thoroughfares and blocked access to three key tunnels in the city, affecting the morning commute for hundreds of thousands.

Air traffic controllers and airline staff also joined the strike, affecting the number of flights that could take off and land, with only one of two runways in operation, reported the South China Morning Post, a local newspaper.

Activists aimed to create discord in other ways that would make it easier for residents to join the strike without having to call in sick, such as misusing emergency buttons on elevators, as well as purposefully driving slowly and creating fake accidents to stall traffic.

Despite chaos in the city of 7 million people that is heavily reliant on public transportation, people largely seemed to take it in stride, patiently queuing at taxi stands and walking to work.

Some rang their employers to say they simply could not get in for their shifts.

Cheng Chi Fai, 40, a bank employee, told the Telegraph that roughly 80 per cent of his colleagues couldn’t get to work. “I have been attending protests and I don’t support the government,” he said.