Despite strict warnings from authorities, children continue to fly kites in a field adjacent to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, raising concerns over aviation safety. Kite flying has deep cultural roots in Indonesia. This ancient and often romanticized practice has come under threat from interfering contemporary air traffic, as encounters with stray kites have created major safety hazards.
Kite strings and bamboo sticks have in recent years become acute dangers to safe aircraft operations. During the height of the pandemic in July 2020, one of the biggest spectacles was an airplane that landed at Soekarno-Hatta. Workers found the remains of an errant kite stuck in its motor. In July 2024, a tourism helicopter crashed in Bali after becoming ensnared in large kite strings. Five people on board sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the scary episode.
Authorities have responded decisively to these incidents. If you are found operating kites or drones, or anything else in a manner that endangers the safety of an airport, prepare to face stiff penalties. You risk imprisonment for up to three years or fines up to one billion Indonesian rupiah (around $61,000 or £46,000).
The cultural importance of kite flying in Indonesia is hard to exaggerate. They’re traditionally made with the leaves of trees, colored paper, or cloth. Their motives for flying them are wide ranging—from rice harvest celebrations to using them as kites for scaring birds off crops. On Bali, kites even act as choices and prayers into the deities. Asep Irawan, an expert from the Indonesia Kite Museum Kite flying is an ancient tradition in Indonesia.
“Kite flying has been passed down through generations from our ancestors. Almost every region in Indonesia has a tradition of kite flying,” – Asep Irawan.
Once the summer holidays kick in, kites become a big draw for kids. Making matters worse is the lack of safe spaces to do this kind of fun, active commuting. Jakarta, which has lost 31% of its urban green spaces between 2000 to 2020 due to rapid urban development. The upshot is that children today have less room to fly their kites.
Children such as Atif take to their streets and protest that there aren’t enough safe places to play. “Back then, a friend and I would bolt when we saw an officer,” he remembers.
Atif has gotten bolder in how he’s challenging authority. He confessed, “I just sort of go along with it when they yell at me. He must contend with the threat of having his kite confiscated by authorities. Unyielding soul that he is, he responds, “If they confiscate my kite, OK, that’s unfortunate, but I can just build a new one.
In advance of these federal guidelines, the airport took the initiative to create a task force as early as July 2020. Their intent is to reduce kite-flying operations within the airport property boundaries. Minister of Transport Dudy Purwagandhi has urged airport authorities and local governments across Indonesia. He called on them to work together to diminish the dangers associated with flying kites.
“It’s certainly a fun activity, but we also need to educate them to prevent the public or children from engaging in activities that could endanger flights,” – Dudy Purwagandhi.
Putu Eka Cahyadi, a local safety official, emphasizes the importance of ensuring safety for all: “We don’t want accidents to occur.” This sentiment ideo is indicative of the rising awareness around the need to accommodate cultural traditions while meeting contemporary safety needs.