Defence Minister: Strong signal must be sent to errant drone operators
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen describes whole-of-government effort to deal with issue, warns culprits of consequences
A strong signal must be sent when the culprits behind the drone intrusions into Changi Airport are apprehended, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said.
Noting there is a whole-of-government effort to deal with this issue, Dr Ng, who spoke to the media last Friday ahead of SAF Day today, said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is working closely with the police to nab the errant operators.
"Changi Airport is very important to the economy... You have tens of millions of passengers so the potential disruption, not to speak of the safety issues, requires this to have top-level attention, and it has," he said.
"Nothing untoward has happened yet, and you really do not want to wait for a catastrophe before you act."
Drone sightings forced one of the two runways at Changi to be closed intermittently between 11pm on June 18 and 9am on June 19, resulting in 37 flights being delayed and one being diverted.
Bad weather and more drone activity on June 24 saw 18 flights delayed and seven diverted.
Dr Ng warned any potential errant drone operators to desist as the consequences will be punitive.
It is illegal to fly drones within 5km of airports or military airbases or at altitudes above 61m without a permit. Offenders can be jailed for up to a year and/or fined up to $20,000.
While the SAF has deployed its assets to neutralise the drone threat at Changi, Dr Ng said it is not a long-term solution, nor the most economical one.
He revealed the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) asked the SAF for advice and has been told about anti-drone systems in the market.
Dr Ng said: "Our SAF systems are built with specifications to deal with much more and sometimes they are not pitched at the sweet spot. But because we have to respond, we will respond with SAF assets first.
"If you wanted to shut down the airspace, you could, but the consequences are very large because do not forget, your planes need to fly and they also depend on communications. That is why it is so difficult."
COST
Aviation analysts told The New Paper that drone intrusions at airports can cost millions depending on the scale, and New Zealand-based aviation consultant Judson Rollins said airlines bear the brunt of it.
Airports might lose some landing fees if flights get cancelled, but Mr Rollins said this is minimal compared to the costs borne by airlines, which include extra fuel, extra crew time and lost revenue due to missed connections.
EasyJet, which cancelled 400 flights affecting 82,000 customers last December after drones disrupted London's Gatwick Airport for three days, said the episode cost it £15 million (S$26 million).
Gatwick lost just £1.4 million, though the airport spent £5 million on anti-drone technology to prevent future attacks.
Said Mr Rollins: "Given the number of Changi diversions, those incidents alone probably didn't (reach) $1 million in extra costs. But drone-caused disruptions worldwide definitely drive extra costs well into the tens of millions each year."
CAAS declined to reveal more details about the incidents, citing investigations and operations. The Ministry of Transport is expected to provide updates when Parliament sits on July 8.
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