Sky Lantern Release & Safety Guidelines

Sky lantern Release & Safety Guidelines

A major benefit of releasing your own sky lanterns, rather than lighting fireworks, is that they are far safer than fireworks and made from non-flammable bio-degradeable paper. Light a Lantern’s sky lanterns will arrive with full release and safety instructions. To make sure you stay safe whilst enjoying them, please follow these guidelines:

Familiarise yourself with the lanterns before lighting and launching them. Please refer to the release instructions for more information.
Do not launch in wind conditions that make lighting the lantern difficult. In any case ensure that the wind is not stronger than 5 mph (please refer to a weather forecast for approximate wind speeds in your area such as www.bbc.co.uk/weather).
Unpack the lanterns away from the source of ignition. Never light lanterns whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Never smoke whilst handling the lanterns.
Before the lantern is launched, the naked flame must be supervised at all times.
Launching a lantern in strong winds, that is torn or has burn holes in may cause premature landing and fire at the point of grounding.
Check the wind direction prior to releasing the lanterns – obstacles such as buildings and trees should not be in the direct flight path of the lantern and must be at least 30 metres away.
Do not release lanterns within a five mile radius of an operational airport or landing strip or within two miles of a major road or motorway.
Do not release the lanterns in an area where the glow could be confused as a distress signal.
Prior to use, all lanterns should be kept in a dry, secure place away from children.
Ensure that all children are kept under supervision and away from the source of ignition during the release.
Always ensure that any naked flames are supervised and never left unattended. Make sure you have water and / or fire extinguishers at hand.
Do not light and release the lanterns wearing flammable clothing in case the flame from the wick ignites the clothing. For additional safety, protective gloves can be worn.

Download sky lantern Release & Safety guidelines

Our sky lantern display team follow these guidelines and has Public Liability insurance when releasing lanterns at official sky lantern display events organised by Light a Lantern. Sky lantern displays are only available in the UK.