After two days of protests shut down Hong Kong International Airport, flights resumed Tuesday (already Wednesday in Hong Kong) as heightened tensions remain.
Pro-democracy demonstrators have clashed with Chinese authorities in the city and at the airport, where the demonstrations and violence forced more than 100 flight cancellations on Monday and Tuesday.
Airport officials demanded further identification checks from passengers, but protesters seemed more orderly and simply handed out pamphlets and posters to travelers.
Protest organizers issued an online apology to those using the airport.
"It is not our intention to cause delays to your travels and we do not want to cause inconvenience to you," the group said in an email, according to USA Today. "We ask for your understanding and forgiveness as young people in Hong Kong continue to fight for freedom and democracy."
The airport's management said it had obtained "an interim injunction to restrain persons from unlawfully and willfully obstructing or interfering" with airport operations. It said an area of the airport had been set aside for demonstrations, but no protests would be allowed outside the designated area.
But USA Today also reported that satellite photos show what appear to be armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles belonging to China parked in a sports stadium in the city of Shenzhen.
Whether that can be considered a threat or show of force remains to be seen.
Chinese state media have said only that the vehicles are part of exercises in Shenzhen that were previously scheduled and were not directly related to the unrest in Hong Kong.
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