Flying objects to be controlled

Khom Loy sky lanterns and Bang Fai rockets are facing new and tougher restrictions in an effort to make the skies safer for air travel.

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From Nov 5 to 9 last year, pilots were warned in advance of areas in the North where 12,704 sky lanterns were launched, but many others were released without warning. CHANAT KATANYU

Sky lanterns, rockets face new controls

Amornrat Mahitthirook

The launching of a Bang Fai rocket. Not a welcome sight for an airplane pilot. JETJARAS NA RANONG.

Spurred by an increasing threat to aviation safety, 10 government agencies have joined forces to halt the irresponsible launching of traditional khom loy sky lanterns and bang fai rockets.

Agreement was reached at a meeting in Bangkok on Thursday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

It followed reports of aircraft being placed in peril by floating lanterns over the New Year festival, with debris being sucked into a jet engine, and of landing lanterns starting fires.

Representatives of the Transport Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Culture Ministry, the Royal Thai Police Office, the Public Relations Department, the National Office of Buddhism and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration signed the memorandum at the Transport Ministry on Thursday.,

They agreed to cooperate to control the launching of sky lanterns and bang fai rockets, and that their unrestricted use poses an increasing threat to aircraft safety and to property in general.

"This is a big issue because it affects aviation safety," Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said.

He said that sky lanterns were popular, particularly in the North, during the Loy Krathong festival in November.

From Nov 5 to 9 last year, pilots were warned in advance of areas where 12,704 sky lanterns were launched, but many others were released without warning.

As a result, many airlines suspended night flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai during that period, ACM Prajin said.

The rockets were popular in the Northeast and traditionally launched during festivals in May and June, but they were now being fired off throughout the year for purposes of gambling, the minister said.

A home-made rocket is launched to celebrate the annual Bang Fai Festival in Muang district, Yasothon. Locals believe the rocket launch will ensure plentiful rainfall for their crops, but gambling has become a big part of the event. THANARAK KHOONTON

Last year the launches of 47,923 rockets were reported in advance, and pilots of 107 flights saw them. Some rockets breached the altitude limit, and many others were launched without prior notice from unidentified locations.

"Pilots saw many rockets at 20,000 feet, which is the altitude for general passenger aircraft," ACM Prajin said.

These rockets jeopardised aviation safety. Some airlines rerouted their flights to avoid the Northeast, the transport minister said.

"If the problem is not tackled seriously, airlines will lose confidence in aviation safety in Thailand and that will affect the national economy, which would lose considerable income from tourism and other activities," ACM Prajin said.

Woradet Harnprasert, deputy permanent secretary for transport, said the organisations that signed the collaboration each had their own tasks. For example, the Transport Ministry will set aviation safety measures. The Defence Ministry will deploy personnel and equipment to respond to incidents resulting from sky lanterns and rockets.

The Interior Ministry will amend laws about firearms, explosives and fireworks to better control such products. The Tourism and Sports Ministry will inform tour operators of the dangers. The Education Ministry will send the same information to students, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will issue regulations about the use of sky lanterns.

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