Kites pose risk to BIA planes

28 August 2014 09:41 pm

Flying kites near the airport raises the possibility of airplane crashes, The Air Traffic Control (ATC) room of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake said.

“We have a few reports of near misses, reported by pilots,” the ATC said.

“Several awareness campaigns were held in the surrounding areas such as placing banners and deploying police officers to educate children and parents.

“Pilots had complained on several occasions to the ATC about kites flying  550 to 1000 feet above the airport.

“If we find kites over the runway, we inform the pilots about the risk. There is a danger of kites causing damage to airplanes when they take off and land,” the control room said. (Chaturanga Pradeep and Nirmala Ferdinandus)