'Never Expected This To Happen In Hong Kong'

Passengers returning to the airport on Wednesday expressed relief that things were back on track but some expressed anger at the disruption, with one passenger saying that he never expected this to happen in Hong Kong.

Authorities have erected new security measures at airport terminals. The staff said there’ll be access control at the entrances and only those with boarding pass or air tickets will be allowed in.

Two of the paths leading to Terminal One was closed off with metal barriers.

The check-in services at Airport Express station, which were suspended on Tuesday afternoon, appeared busy in the morning with dozens arriving as delayed flights started taking off.

One passenger said airport authorities should have taken more measures to prevent chaos on Tuesday.

This traveller from India named Chopra had come to Hong Kong on a business trip and has been stuck here for three days. He said his flight back to India was delayed until Friday. But he decided to come to the airport to see if he can get on a flight earlier.

Visibly annoyed at the goings on, Chopra said the airport authorities should have done more to help passengers.

"The scene last night was very, very dangerous. Anything would have gone wrong," he said.

"People with boarding pass were pleading to get inside," said Chopra. He said people sitting at the departure gates would not let them in.

"In our lifetime, we have seen it first time. We never expected that in a country like Hong Kong, it will happen," said Chopra. "There was no security, no police [to protect] the passengers. They were left on their own."

But Miguel, who’s from France, appeared to be taking everything in his stride. He said he isn’t too bothered about the one-day delay of his flight and wasn't too scared about his personal safety during the clashes.

"It's okay, I can manage it. When the police [came in], we just moved back. I am not worried about that," said Miguel.

He was still supportive of the protesters after all the delay too. "We know what's happening. They are fighting for something. It's okay for us," he said.

Gigi, a Filipino who was scheduled to fly home on Tuesday, but her flight was postponed to Wednesday. But after seeing the violent confrontations at the airport overnight, she said she now feels the schedule change was good as she didn't head to the airport.