The new week got off to a dramatic start at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), with footage that has emerged on social media and has since gone viral showing a passenger smashing several of the facility’s self-check-in kiosks with a pole. The rampage unfolded this morning, with police arresting the offender.

The perpetrator was reportedly a 35-year-old male, and, in addition to his undeniable damage to the airport’s facilities, he was also arrested for a form of drug possession. Let’s take a look at how this morning’s dramatic events unfolded, and how the day ended up playing out on an operational level in Hong Kong.

Just Another Manic Monday

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Most, if not all, of us will, at some point, have experienced a frustrating encounter with an airport’s self-check-in machine at some point in our flying lives. While these devices are often a handy way to save time and minimize human interaction when bleary-eyed after an early wake-up call, they don’t always work as planned. Naturally, this can lead to a degree of frustration, although ideally not to the extent that was seen in Hong Kong today.

According to the Hong Kong Free Press, and as seen above, a passenger took his frustration too far at around 6:00 am local time today by using a metal pole to smash multiple self-check-in kiosks at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). The incident reportedly took place in Terminal 1 at Hong Kong International Airport, with the Aisle J counters being the subjects of the man’s rampage. An Airport Authority spokesperson explained that:

“Airport Authority staff and airport security personnel rushed to the scene and warned the man to stop causing further damage. Police have arrested the man and launched an investigation.”

Drug Possession Was Also A Factor In The Man’s Arrest

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All in all, the man’s rampage is said to have resulted in damage to around 10 self-check-in kiosks at Hong Kong International Airport, with the 35-year-old British tourist having also taken aim at counters and railings during his Monday morning onslaught. The Hong Kong Free Press reports that he had first come to the Special Administrative Region back in November of 2025, and was planning to leave this morning before his eventual arrest.

This, the Hong Kong Free Press reports, took place in the airport’s bus terminal, where police officers discovered that he was also in possession of four Viagra pills. The sexual stimulant may only be possessed in Hong Kong if prescribed by a doctor, which appears not to have been the case for the kiosk smasher.

Indeed, suspicion of possession of ‘Part 1’ poisons was cited as one of the reasons behind his arrest, alongside the criminal damage caused by his attack on the self-check-in kiosks at Hong Kong International Airport. Possessing Viagra in Hong Kong without a valid prescription from a doctor reportedly carries a maximum financial penalty of HK$100,000 ($12,800), as well as the potential of a prison sentence lasting as long as two years.

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The Dramatic Incident Resulted In Little To No Operational Disruption

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Despite the dramatic nature of the man’s rampage this morning, Hong Kong International Airport had a relatively normal day on an operational level. Indeed, tracking data made available by Flight Aware shows that only three inbound flights were canceled there today, with another 55 delays representing just 9% of its daily output. Naturally, being inbound flights, this disruption will not have been tied to the man’s early morning antics.

The day ran even more smoothly as far as departing flights were concerned, with Hong Kong not registering at all on Flight Aware’s league table of disruption for outbound services. Similarly, Flightradar24’s departure delay index only gave the facility a departure delay index (a score concerning the likelihood of disruption) of 1.8 out of a possible five points today, with the arrival delay index having dipped even lower by the evening to just 0.5