Chinese Authorities at Chengdu have held a joined press conference with Met Offices to remind the Chinese public, that flying large (unmanned) balloons, that is balloons with more than 1 meter in diameter, need a specific permit.

Flying such balloons can endanger aircraft, citing that an unnamed flight from Chengdu to Kunming on May 31st this year nearly collided with a red large, unmanned balloon at FL300. Authorities added, that those balloons do not appear on radar screens of both air traffic control or airplanes, so that they can only be detected by visual contact, at which time it may be too late to avoid the object. Besides the possibility, that the balloon could get ingested into an engine and fail that engine, authorities are worried with control surfaces becoming entangled in and blocked by the remains of a balloon or wires hanging off the balloon.