Hong Kong grounds all flights as protest paralyzes airport

Stranded traveler: "It took an hour to get out of the arrivals hall"
By Helen Regan and Ben Westcott

• All flights grounded: All departing flights have been cancelled in Hong Kong, as thousands of demonstrators descend on the city's International Airport.
• Police brutality: A small number of protesters have been demonstrating at the airport all weekend, but today's mass gathering was sparked by allegations of unnecessary police violence on Sunday.
• World transport hub: Hong Kong International Airport is one of the busiest in the world, handling 1,100 flights daily across about 200 destinations.

A line for the bus at the airport. 

Ben, a British expat who landed in Hong Kong at 4.20 p.m. on a Cathay Pacific flight from Cebu in the Philippines, said airport staff gave no warning of the chaos awaiting travelers trying to leave the airport.

"It was wall-to-wall people chanting, 'Don't trust HK police' and providing maps of MTR stations that had been attacked in the last couple of days, and where people had been beaten up by the police," he said. 

Once through customs, Ben, who asked that CNN withhold his full name, said it took him an hour to battle through the arrivals hall. 

"Normally, it takes 10 minutes," he said.
Travelers stranded at the airport: The taxi stand was shut and Ben couldn't get on the Airport Express train, leaving him with few options to leave the airport.
"If you're waiting for that train, you're going to have to wait for an hour-plus, if not more," he said, describing a huge crowd waiting to catch the train, which takes 25 minutes to reach the city center.
"We weren't given any advice (after landing)," he said. 

"I'd seen on various WhatsApp groups what was going on, but there was nothing from airport staff warning what we were going to face."
In the end, Ben left the airport terminal and walked up to the highway until he saw a taxi that dropped someone off.