The beach beside the airport in Phuket, Thailand is a great spot for taking selfies but the military junta isn’t a fan.
Planes arriving over the water landing on runway 9 cross Mai Khao beach and it’s become popular to take selfies as aircraft approach.
In April local reports exaggerated the Thai government’s response to concerns that tourists on the beach could be endangering their own safety and the safety of aircraft, suggesting that the death penalty could be on the table. Now they’re clarifying that really referred to drones although the government refers to a ‘grey area’ where perfectly legal photography could be “intended to harm airport security” and therefore punishable.
The Air Navigation Act does provide penalties up to and including death. However at the time I wrote that “Jail time and fines are also possible — and strike me as far more likely.”
Nonetheless at least 259 people have died worldwide since 2011 while taking selfies. So whether or not you’re executed by the Thai government, you may not be completely safe.
