Kits in cross -haired hair when planes face danger

On a wicked field two kilometers from Jakarta’s International Airport, the rustling of flickering is periodically drowned by the thunderstorm of the airplane engines.

Pulling the kite strings in the field is a group of children, their doors headed to the sky. But their eyes are also striving for the bottom, taking care of patrolling airport employees who could come to confiscate their kite – and their fun.

“In the past, my friends and I would escape when an officer came,” said the seven -year -old Atif, one of the children in the field, “BBC tells. “I’m more bold now, so I go with that when they quarrel.”

“If my kite is taken, it’s sad, but I can always do another.”

The tractor is unfolding here, between the airport authorities and one of the most exquisite entertainment in Indonesia.

Kite’s flying is popular in Indonesia – especially at this time of year, when students go on summer vacations. But the authorities have issued kite warnings, which are said to be a danger to safety if they block airplane sensors or get into engines.

Three days in early July, the kite interrupted 21 flights at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the one close to the Paddy Field, according to Airnav Indonesia air traffic controller. Some of them were diverted to another airport and some aborted landings, considered too dangerous to approach the kite.

Kates are “moving obstacles” for aircraft and “serious risk of flight safety”, Putu Eka Cahyadi, head of SOEKARNO-HATTA International Airport, BBC tells.

“We don’t want accidents to occur.”

Such fears are not unfounded.

In July 2024, a helicopter crashed in Bali after being tangled in kite strings, injuring three Indonesians and two Australians on board.

In July 2020, strings and bamboo rods were found in the airplane engine after arriving in Socraco-Hata. While the plane managed to land without an accident, the incident caused serious concerns about safety. The next month, the airport set up a working group to break up by flying kite near its premises.

Five years on the problem continued. In July, Transport Minister Dudi Puruagandhi called on airport authorities and regional governments in Indonesia to minimize the harm that the throwing of the kite inflicts on flights.

“This is certainly a fun activity, but we also need to train them to prevent the public or children from engaging in activities that could endanger flights,” says G -Putu.

His colleagues have tried to give children players and badminton rockets to direct them to other sports. But flying with kite is woven into the tissue of Indonesian culture.

Traditionally made with leaves, colored paper or fabric, the kite fly in Indonesia for various purposes: for rice harvest ceremonies, to pursue birds away from cultures or, bales, as a form of prayer and contribution to the gods.

“Flying Kite has been transferred through generations from our ancestors. Almost every region in Indonesia has a tradition of flying kite,” says Asep Iravan, an expert at the Kite Museum in Indonesia.

“However, we must be cautious, especially (with) children. They just fly them. They do not see the potential danger.”

Those who have caught flying kite, drones or other things that pose safety risks around airports can be closed for up to three years or fined one billion Indonesian rupee ($ 61,000; 46,000 British pounds).

But not only on air bands kite can be dangerous. In densely populated areas, kite is also deadly distraction. Last year, an eight -year -old boy died after embarking on road roads in Depok, south of Jakarta. Police believe he was hit by a car while chasing kite.

In 2020, a man was arrested after his kite had broken and fell to a substation in Bali, causing hours of eclipse in more than 70,000 houses and buildings.

Returning to the Paddy field near Soekarno-Hatta Airport, the children say they don’t want to get involved with planes-but they are very pressed to find better places for their hobby.

Jakarta lost 31% of her urban green spaces between 2000 and 2020, as fields and forests gave way to clogged roads and apartment blocks.

“There is nowhere else to go here,” says Rasha, a 17-year-old, who makes and sells kite. “There is another place, but it’s still close to the airport. There’s just no other places to fly.”

Paddy Field is now home to a Kite enthusiast community who organize regular kite casting races. Rasha has won them twice.

Previously, he had encountered the patrol officials at the airport who called him and confiscated his kite.

“The police even came to our house and took two of my kite and burned them, strings and everything else. Then my brothers and sisters quarreled me and told me to stop. But recently I started flying kite again,” he says.

“It’s quite dangerous. But after your kite is taken away, stop being afraid.”