309 cases of unlawful use of drones dealt with in 2023: CAAS

Eight people and seven companies were prosecuted for unlawful use of drones in 2023, out of a total of 309 cases that year. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said the 15 court cases resulted in fines of between $4,000 and $45,000 for the perpetrators. The other 294 drone operators were issued composition fines, stern warnings or advisories. CAAS said it took enforcement action against 396 cases of unlawful unmanned aircraft operations in 2022 and 266 cases in 2021, with the majority of these cases involving drones. In February 2023, a 25-year-old man was fined $23,000 for flying an unregistered drone neither for recreational nor educational purposes, without the necessary permits, and also in a reckless manner. A construction firm was fined $45,000 in May 2023 over eight charges of operating a drone in the course of business without the necessary permits. Another 51 charges were taken into consideration. In 2020, 20 drone operators were arrested in the span of three months for illegally flying their drones within 5km of Changi Airport, prompting the authorities to beef up security.<br/>