City police warned protesters gathering at the airport to "leave immediately" on Sunday, and said some protesters had already charged barriers and blocked roads.
The city's transport network had braced for trouble on Sunday morning, with the Airport Express train suspending services to the airport, local airline Cathay Dragon relocating its check-in counters, and the airport closing some short-term parking.
It's the 13th consecutive weekend of protests in Hong Kong, concluding days of escalation in which a number of activist leaders and lawmakers were arrested, and speculation heightened about China's strategy toward the city's pro-democracy movement.
After three months of protest, Hong Kong's political crisis appears increasingly intractable. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has refused to rule out invoking broad emergency powers, and Reuters reported this week that Beijing had quashed Lam's proposal to concede to some of the protest movement's five demands.
The previous day's protests ended bitterly, with hundreds gathered in anger outside Mong Kok police station. At least 51 people were arrested late that night, with dozens rounded up in Kowloon's Prince Edward subway station. Graphic video footage showed police swinging batons in the station, landing some blows on individuals already lying on the ground.
Police said Sunday that the subway clearance operation was a response to citizen reports of disruption and vandalization, and that those arrested had been accused of participating in an unauthorized assembly and "criminal damage" among other charges.
Earlier on Saturday, protesters throwing petrol bombs and setting fires had been quickly met with tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon -- a suggestion that Hong Kong police's patience is waning after a long summer of conflict.
Interfering with airport operations has been one of the protesters' most-criticized tactics. An occupation of the main terminal in early August saw flight cancellations, the mobbing of two mainland Chinese citizens, and ultimately a court injunction. Chinese authorities described those chaotic scenes as breaking "the bottom line of the law, morality and humanity," and while some travelers speaking to CNN expressed sympathy for the movement, others gave voice to frustration.
Some protesters later apologized for taking the August airport protest too far.
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