SINGAPORE - Unauthorised flying of drones will be banned over several days in the coming months to protect the safety of low-flying aircraft participating in the National Day Parade (NDP) as preparations ramp up.

Most of the flight bans will fall on Saturday with two falling on a Tuesday and one on Friday when the NDP is being held.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on May 23 that these temporary restricted areas (TRAs) will cover most parts of Singapore, including the Padang, the venue for NDP.

These restrictions extend to activities such as kite-flying, hoisting of balloons as well as flying aircraft and cover the area from ground level up to 760m above sea level.

Conducting aerial and unmanned aircraft activities within the TRAs without the required permits from the authority is an offence under the Air Navigation Order (ANO) and the Air Navigation (101– Unmanned Aircraft Operations) Regulations 2019 (ANR-101) respectively.

A person found guilty of an offence under the ANO can be fined up to $20,000 for the first offence. Subsequent offences may be punished by a jail term of up to 15 months, a fine of $40,000 or both.

A person found guilty of an offence under the ANR-101 can be jailed up to two years, fined up to $50,000 or both.

The punishment for subsequent offences increases to a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to $100,000 or both.