In fact, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has logged nearly 9,000 such incidents between 2009 and 2015 -- 20 of which occurred on a single evening last November. The UK already has laws on its books that prohibits shining lasers at passing aircraft, however the pilots union doesn't think those statutes go far enough. Instead, the union is now lobbying to make even possessing one an offense on par with carrying a concealed knife. There's no word on when or if Parliament will take up the issue.