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Northern Ireland: "Laser Lunacy" drama visits schools to warn students not to aim lasers at aircraft

Belfast International Airport is trying to reach local youths to warn them against aiming lasers at aircraft. The airport worked with Arts & Business to develop a dramatic performance called “Laser Lunacy”. The 20-minute show will be performed for over 2,000 students in six Belfast-area schools.

According to an October 19 2016 story in the Irish News, the performance depicts an aircraft crew member being blinded, which leads to a crash that injures 17 people. The subsequent investigation highlights how a criminal conviction can ruin a young person’s life.

After the performance there is a question-and-answer session to reinforce the message.

BIA’s Jaclyn Coulter told the newspaper “We have a very serious message to get across to young people and we thought that the most effective way of doing that was through drama…. [W]e are delighted with the response we have had both from schools and pupils. We want this practice to be stamped out. It is not fun. It is not a game.”

There were 35 aircraft illumination incidents last year, and 16 thus far in 2016.

From the Irish News