On rice fields two kilometers from Jakarta International Airport, the thunderous roar of the aircraft engine will be drowned.
The pull of the kite strings in the wild is a group of children whose necks are stretched towards the sky. But their eyes are flying underneath, so beware of the patrol airport officials who may confiscate kites-and their fun.
“In the past, my friends and I came and when an officer came, I would run away,” Atif, a seven-year-old child in the wild, told the BBC. “Now I’m brave, so when they scold me, I’ll go with it.”
“It’s sad if you shoot a kite, but I can always make another one.”
A war broke out here between the airport authorities and one of Indonesia’s most precious pastime activities.
Kite flying is very popular in Indonesia – especially when middle school students attend summer vacations. But authorities have issued warnings about kites, saying they can cause safety hazards to aircraft sensors if they block or plug into the engine.
According to airlifter Airnav Indonesia, the kite destroyed 21 flights in the three days in early July, the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Paddy Stadium. Some were transferred to another airport, and some had abortions, deeming it too dangerous to get close to the kite.
Putu Eka Cahyadi, head of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Authority, told the BBC.
“We don’t want an accident.”
Despite warnings [Haryo Bangun Wirawan/BBC]
Such fear is not without foundation.
In July 2024, a helicopter was caught in a kite string and injured on the boat, with three Indonesians and two Australians hitting Bali.
In July 2020, after the plane arrived at Soekarno-Hatta, the strings and bamboo sticks of the kite were found in the aircraft engine. The incident raised serious safety issues when the plane managed to land without the unfortunate circumstances. The following month, the airport formed a task force to combat kite shocks near its house.
Five years later, the problem persists. In July, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi urged airport authorities and regional governments across Indonesia to minimize the harm caused by kites to flights.
“It is certainly an interesting activity, but we also need to educate them to prevent the public or children from engaging in activities that may harm flights,” Mr Putu said.
His colleagues tried to give children football and badminton rackets to guide them into other sports. But kite flying is woven into the structure of Indonesian culture.
Traditionally, kites made of leaves, colorful paper or cloth have appeared in Indonesia for various purposes: for rice harvesting rituals, keeping birds away from crops or Bali, as a form of prayer and dedicated to the gods.
“Kite flying has been spread from generations of our ancestors. There is a tradition of kite flying in almost every region in Indonesia,” said Asep Irawan, an expert at the Indonesia Kite Museum.
“But we need to be cautious, especially [with] Children. They just drive them. They don’t see the potential danger. ”
Children say they can’t find a better place to kite [Haryo Bangun Wirawan/BBC]
Those arrested kites, drones or other things that pose security risks around the airport could be sentenced to three years in prison or fined 1 billion Indonesian Indonesia ($61,000; £46,000).
But, kites are not only dangerous on the runway. In densely populated areas, kites are also a fatal distraction. Last year, an eight-year-old boy ventured to die on a toll road in Depok City, south of Jakarta. Police believe he was hit by a car while chasing a kite.
In 2020, a man was arrested after his kite broke and fell to a substation in Bali, causing hours of power outages in more than 70,000 houses and buildings.
Back at Paddy Field near Soekarno-Hatta Airport, the kids say they aren’t going to get involved in the plane – but it’s hard for them to find a better place for their hobbies.
Between 2000 and 2020, Jakarta lost 31% of its urban green space as fields and forests gave way to crowded roads and apartment blocks.
“There is no other place here,” said Rasha, 17. “There is one place, but it’s still close to the airport. There’s no other place to fly.”
Paddy Field is now home to a community of kite lovers who organize regular kite-shock competitions. Rasha won twice.
He had previously had trouble with the airport officers who blamed him for confiscating his kite.
He said: “The police even came to our house and burned my two kites, strings, strings, etc. After that, my brothers and sisters scolded me and told me to stop. But recently, I started driving the kites again.”
“It’s dangerous. But once your kite is taken away, you won’t be afraid.”
