These airborne Chinese lanterns have become increasingly popular in recent years as a way of marking special events. However, they do pose a significant danger to aviation traffic and can cause the deployment of Irish Coast Guard resources on false rescue missions. Chinese lanterns, drifting across a night sky, are commonly mistaken by the public for marine distress flares.
If you are intending to release sky lanterns:
You must, before the release date, obtain permission in writingfrom the Flight Operations Dept of the Irish Aviation Authority. You can contact them at fod@iaa.ie or by phone at 01 603 1148
Just before releasing the lanterns:
To ensure your lanterns are not confused as a sighting of a distress signal, you must contact the following agencies just prior to releasing the lanterns:
· Irish Coast Guard
· Nearest Air Traffic Control unit
· Nearest Garda station
21/12/2011
