It appears the lesser the crime the greater the penalty.

Did the OP forget to list this on April 1?

This story is a beat up lifted from the pages of a typical UK tabloid newspaper.

 

Thailand's Air Aviation Act (1978), quite reasonably, lists various penalties for anyone endangering the safety of aircraft. These penalties include jail terms, life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

I would think the latter would only apply in a case where a terrorist causes an aircraft to crash, or similar. 

For some little deputy airport manager to use this ultimate penalty as a threat to deter tourists taking photos on the beach is typical Thai over-the-top idiocy.

For creating great embarrassment for Thailand in the world's media, I hope he has lost his job.

I flew in last Monday, approaching from the West. there must have been 20 or 30 people there taking pictures- other than the damage to their hearing it;'s harmless. There's a fence there and from a security perspective there are far better places around the airport to be situated should one want to whack a missile into a plane. Even the receptionist from my apartments was there this weekend with her kids (and no missiles).

 

This is just a UK tabloid bigging up a non-story. I'm surprised they didn't mention Ladyboys and the sex industry as well- it's all they think Thailand is about.

If the tourists are dumb enough to waste their holiday by standing under the hot sun and inhale the toxic exhaust fumes of jets while taking “ego-mania” selfies of themselves-so be it. 

why the <deleted> selfies.. how about people distracting the plane anyway...why dont they just close the <deleted> beach...

Selfie, selfie, selfie! Death!

 

 

Unless there are some hot 22 year old female topless, busty, long haired, well toned hotties on the beach shooting distress smoke flare signals in the air, I do not understand how a jetliner ascending after lift off, with the plane's nose up, can have it's pilots distracted,  due a bunch of over weight people waving stupidly in the air ???