Hong Kong pushed to the 'brink of no return' as airport protests continue.

-(Hong Kong (CNN

Violent protests are pushing Hong Kong "to the brink of no return," the city's leader warned Tuesday, as airport protests continued to disrupt flights in and out of the Asian financial hub

In her first public appearance since demonstrators succeeded in shutting down the city's international airport on Monday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said it could take a "long time for Hong Kong to recover," but she insisted that the authorities were still capable of managing the situation

  The only thing we have to do is to go against violence, and rebuild the city, said Lam

By Tuesday afternoon, thousands of protesters were once again occupying Hong Kong's airport, where they sang, chanted and waved placards. A day before hundreds of passengers were left stranded after all departing flights and more than 70 arriving flights were canceled Monday, amid chaotic scenes inside the airport as thousands of demonstrators descended on the main terminal

According to the airport's website, a handful of flights departed after midnight

An airport spokesperson said flights would resume at 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday, although a number of incoming and outgoing flights are still listed as canceled on the airport website. According to CNN's count, there were still 150 outgoing flights and 147 incoming flights canceled from 7 a.m. through midnight Tuesday

Demonstrations initially kicked off at the airport on Friday, with a small number continuing protesting over the weekend. Monday's mass gathering at the airport was sparked by widespread allegations of police violence during protests on Sunday

At a sometimes rowdy press conference on Tuesday morning, Lam said the city had experienced "damage" caused by the "illegal activities" of protesters who "did not have the law in mind

Riot activities (have) pushed Hong Kong to the brink of no return," said Lam. She said protesters had attacked "police officers with malice intention" and insisted "police are an important defense of Hong Kong

Lam's comments come as protest organizers called on supporters to return to the airport Tuesday, for what would be the fifth consecutive day of demonstrations at the aviation hub

"We stayed here overnight because we want to show people it's safe in the airport," said one 23-year-old protester, Tuesday, one of around 30 demonstrators who had stayed in the arrivals hall overnight

We are expecting more people to join in in the afternoon and with enough people, we hope to paralyze the airport once again like we did yesterday, added the protester, who would only give his first name, Pang