Anti-extradition bill protesters bring Hong Kong airport to a halt

Protesters against the 2019  Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill have taken their fight to the Hong Kong airport. If the bill is enacted, authorities in Hong Kong would be permitted to either detain or extradite people to countries like mainland China.

Hong Kong is the world`s busiest air cargo port and the 8th busiest by passenger traffic, handling 73 million passengers a year.

Hundreds of people have participated in the sit-in protest inside the Hong Kong International Airport. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the "one country, two systems" arrangement that enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from Britain in 1997.

Some passengers challenged protesters over the delays as tempers began to fray.

China's civil aviation regulator has demanded Cathay Pacific  suspend staff who joined or backed the protests from flights in its airspace.

A senior Chinese official said "sprouts of terrorism" were emerging in Hong Kong, given instances of violent attacks against police officers.

Ten weeks of increasingly violent protests have roiled the Asian financial hub as thousands chafe at a perceived erosion of freedoms and autonomy under Chinese rule.