EgyptAir, the flag carrier airline of Egypt, has suspended all the flights to Hong Kong until further notice after a new round of protests shut down the territory's global transit hub, the company said in a press statement on Monday. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has canceled all departures on Monday, citing serious disruption due to demonstrations at the airport, just hours after travel to and from Hong Kong resumed. “Terminal operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted and all check-in processes have now been suspended,” a statement on the airport website read. “Affected passengers please contact their respective airlines for flight arrangement.” Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the semiautonomous territory's leader, Carrie Lam, said demonstrations could push Hong Kong “down a path of no return” and claimed that protesters had created “a state of panic and chaos.” Protests began 10 weeks ago in opposition to a bill that would allow the territory to extradite people facing criminal charges to mainland China, but the movement has expanded to include wider calls for democracy. Demonstrators say they want to fight the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that, on paper, had enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997. They have also documented excessive force by police, who have attempted to put down demonstrations with tear gas and bean bag pellets fired at close range.
