The Indonesian government is facing increased pressure to prepare a contingency plan for its citizens and their businesses in Hong Kong, as the Chinese city grapples with the latest wave of demonstrations to have paralyzed operations at one of the world’s busiest airports.

As many as 75 Indonesians were left stranded along with thousands of other passengers on Monday after local authorities canceled all remaining flights from Hong Kong’s international airport, which was completely inundated and occupied by prodemocracy protesters.

Hundreds more flights were canceled or suspended on Tuesday as protesters staged a second day of hugely disruptive rallies at the airport, according to various media reports.

Among those stranded at the airport was the National Games (PON) swimming team from Jakarta — consisting of 47 athletes, several coaches and a team manager — which had just participated in the Hong Kong Open Swimming Championship over the weekend.

The team was due to return to Jakarta on Monday evening but got stuck at the airport after the situation became “very chaotic”, one of the coaches, Felix C. Sutanto, said.

They have since been taken back to the Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong, together with 28 other Indonesians, said acting consul general Mandala Purba. “All of the citizens who were stranded on Monday safely returned [to Indonesia] on Tuesday,” Mandala told The Jakarta Post.

The consulate general previously issued an advisory urging Indonesian citizens to seek temporary accommodations while they wait out the disruptions.

Sparked by plans to pass a bill easing extradition to mainland China, the protests have since evolved to highlight other grievances in one of the world’s most densely crowded cities.

The conflict has become the biggest challenge to Chinese control over Hong Kong since the United Kingdom relinquished its colony in 1997. China recently said the protests had begun to show “sprouts of terrorism”.

The tensions have sparked concerns for the growing numbers of Indonesians in Hong Kong.

Labor advocacy group Migrant CARE said the government must have a contingency plan in place to anticipate the worsening situation in the city, where about 250,000 Indonesian migrant workers reside.

“If things get worse, evacuation is an option that should be considered, especially for areas [prone to] high levels of conflict,” Migrant CARE executive director Wahyu Susilo said on Monday.

Acting Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia had begun talks to anticipate further developments in the city. “We have discussed a contingency plan in regard of the developments in Hong Kong,” he told the Post on Tuesday.

Indonesia has sent hundreds of thousands of its citizens to be domestic helpers and caregivers for Hong Kong’s aging population. The city is currently the third-largest employer of Indonesian migrant workers in the Asia-Pacific region, after Malaysia and Taiwan.

As one of the world’s busiest airports for cargo and passenger traffic, the disruptions have also left Indonesia’s business community guessing.

Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, deputy chair for international relations at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said Indonesian businesses had yet to receive any detailed information on the impact that the demonstrations have had on business activities in the city.

“If there is indeed disruption at the ports and it lasts long enough so that it disrupts production schedules or export commitments, we should have a plan B to reroute or transfer our trade to other ports such as Macau or Shanghai,” she said. (tjs)

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