G20: The kite exclusion map

KEITH BEATY/ TORONTO STAR

Map: the G8/G20 air exclusion zones

The federal government released a document today outlining airspace restrictions during the summits. The two affected zones are circles with a 15 nautical mile* radius centred on a point east of Huntsville and another around Dundas West and Royal York Road. The Toronto area covers more or less all of the city, and quite a lot of the 905.

The regulations forbid most forms of aviation, broadly defined, including parasailing and kite-flying. The small print is here (pdf).

The reasoning behind the kite rule isn't obvious - my own kite-flying has posed a rather limited risk to national security (or so it seemed at the time). It also isn't clear whether there's any serious will to enforce this, but I guess we may find out.

* or 17.2 statute miles, or 27.6 kilometers

Comments

[G Francis]

It probably comes from an Afghan or Pakastan security advisor, where fighting kites with rasor sharp wires are sometimes banned from the sky. I'll be flying my 9.99 Ikea special with 90m of nylone line, out here in the airspace fringe of Burlington - with or without a breeze. We should all carry a kite on the weekend.