Thousands of floating Chinese lanterns launched in celebration lit up the night sky and caused 12 aircraft approaching Penang international airport in Malaysia to be diverted, local media reported today.

The lanterns, made of bamboo and oilpaper and fuelled by kerosene, were released in Penang o­n Sunday to mark the eighth day of the Chinese New Year and several fell o­n the airport runway, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said.

Local DCA manager Ooi Chuang Leong told the New Straits Times that air traffic controllers had been forced to warn aircraft to approach from a higher than usual altitude and from over the sea to "avoid coming into possible contact with the lanterns".