Mexican festival-goers focus lasers on a passing aircraft

DOZENS of laser beams were pointed at a passenger aircraft in a reckless act at a fireworks festival in Mexico.

The jet was flying over the annual National Pyrotechnic Festival, in Tultepec, when people in the crowd began to point several laser beams towards it. Footage captured last weekend shows the aircraft swarmed by green rays.

Social media users condemned the behaviour. One commented: “I wonder if they think it would be funny if they were travelling on that plane.”

People who point laser devices at transport operators in the UK face a prison sentence of up to five years.

New, tougher laws were introduced after a Virgin Atlantic flight was forced to return to Heathrow airport in 2016 when a laser was shone at the aircraft.

Commander Simon Bray, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for lasers, praised the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act, saying: “Recklessly shining a laser at an aircraft or another moving vehicle is deeply irresponsible and dangerous. By causing a distraction or, in some cases, short or long-term eye damage, laser attacks can lead to cata- strophic incidents.”

In the US, pointing laser beams at aircraft is a federal crime that can result in fines of up to £8,700.

Laser pointers with a power output of more than one milliwatt have been deemed prohibited weapons in Australia since 2008 after aircraft flying over Sydney were focused on.

The National Pyrotechnic Festival is a celebration of the local area’s role in Mexico’s fireworks industry.

Up to 100,000 festival-goers watch and take part in processions using huge displays of fireworks.

It is unclear whether the police in Mexico are investigating the video or whether the airline in question has complained to air safety officials.