Durian on the MRT: Is There a Fine? Singapore Durian Rules

Everyone in Singapore knows durian is banned on the MRT. Fewer people know that the sign itself shows no fine, that the law behind it still allows one, and that the place you are most likely to actually be charged money is a hotel room.

The rules are not one rule. Public transport, taxis, hotels and airlines each handle durian differently, and the gap between what is prohibited and what is enforced is different in each case. Here is what each one actually is.

The rules at a glance

The MRT sign, and what the law behind it says

Durian is prohibited on the MRT, and a no-durian pictogram is on the notices in stations and trains. Mothership reports that an old news clipping shows SMRT began applying a S$500 fine for durian on trains in 1988, with an MRT spokesperson explaining that the smell lingers in air-conditioned spaces.

What the sign shows. No dollar figure is printed beside the durian. Mothership puts it this way: “While no fine is indicated on the ‘no durians’ sign, it doesn’t mean you would not be penalized for it.”

What the law says. The word durian does not appear in the Rapid Transit Systems Regulations. It does not need to. Regulation 7(1)(b) says no person shall bring onto railway premises “any item which is prohibited by an officer or employee of the Authority or its licensee at the railway premises or by notices posted by such person in the railway premises”. The durian pictogram is such a notice. The Schedule to the regulations sets the maximum penalty for that offence at S$500, and regulation 53 allows it to be settled with a composition fine rather than in court. Regulation 11 separately requires everyone on railway premises to comply with notices, signs and the reasonable directions of staff, also with a maximum of S$500.

What actually happens. We have not found a published figure for how often durian fines are issued. The cases that get reported are about being asked to leave: Mothership reported in December 2023 on a woman who was asked to leave a bus for carrying durians, and threw them out of the door instead, which Mothership notes is a far more serious offence than carrying them. Whether you are asked to leave or fined is the staff’s call, not your entitlement, and the fine is real.

Buses work differently. The rail regulations above cover the MRT and LRT. On buses, Mothership reports that SBS Transit asks passengers not to bring items that may offend others, “such as durians and pets”. We have not found a bus regulation that names durian.

The sensible workaround. Sealed, boxed, packed flesh (the form most durian delivery in Singapore comes in) does not smell through the packaging in the way a whole fruit does, and a box nobody can smell is unlikely to be noticed. A whole fruit in a plastic bag will be. Either way the rule is the same, so the honest advice is not to take durian on the train at all.

Taxis and private hire cars

There is no law against durian in a taxi. There is also no obligation on the driver to take you.

Drivers can and do refuse durian, and some display their own no-durian sticker. The reason is straightforward: the smell settles into the upholstery and the next several passengers get it. A driver who accepts your durian is doing you a favour and absorbing a real cost.

If you are moving durian by car, say so when you book, keep it sealed and boxed, and accept that a refusal is the driver’s call to make.

Hotels, where the money actually changes hands

This is the one that catches people out. Hotels do not just disapprove of durian, they charge for it.

Only the Carlton City figure is one we could read on the hotel’s own site. The others are as reported in May and June 2025, and a hotel can change its charge without notice, so ask at check-in if it matters to you.

The reasoning is the same as the taxi, scaled up. The smell gets into carpet, curtains and soft furnishings, and the room comes out of service while it is dealt with.

The charge does get applied. In May 2025 a tourist staying at Vibe Hotel Singapore Orchard ate durian in her room and found a housekeeping note saying a S$200 cleaning fee would be imposed because the smell had been detected. The hotel confirmed the charge to AsiaOne.

If you are staying in a hotel and want durian, eat it where you bought it. Most stalls will open it and give you a table, gloves and water, which is the better experience anyway.

Flights

Airline rules are set by the airline, not by Singapore law, and they vary.

Singapore Airlines does not permit durian in the cabin or in checked baggage. Finnair and Japan Airlines say the same in their own FAQs, and Cathay Pacific bans durian from the cabin and refuses it in checked baggage “regardless of how they have been packaged”.

A few carriers do take it in the hold on conditions. Vietnam Airlines accepts up to 5kg of durian in checked baggage if it is sealed in plastic, and asks passengers not to carry it in the cabin. That allowance does not apply on flights it operates with ATR72 aircraft, so on those flights there is no stated permission at all.

Vacuum packing is no way round these bans. Of the airlines that ban durian, Cathay Pacific is the only one that mentions packaging, and it rules it out. Singapore Airlines, Finnair and Japan Airlines state a plain ban with no exception for packaging, and Finnair gives the strong odour as its reason.

Processed durian is a different question, and an unanswered one. The bans above name the fruit, and none of these airlines’ pages says anything either way about dried durian chips, paste or sweets. That silence is not permission. Singapore Airlines says it may restrict any food with a strong smell, in the cabin or the hold, so ask your airline about the specific product before you pack it.

Check with your specific airline before you fly. This is the one area where an out-of-date answer costs you the fruit at the gate, and airline policies do change.

Bringing durian into Singapore from Malaysia

You can. Fresh durian for personal consumption in reasonable quantities is allowed, and plenty of people drive it across.

Two conditions attach. All fresh fruit must be declared on entry. And “personal consumption” is doing real work in that sentence: quantities that look commercial need an import permit from the Singapore Food Agency and a customs permit, and undeclared fruit can be seized.

Worth knowing that the SFA sets no weight limit on fruit. Its published allowance for fresh fruit and vegetables is “a small, reasonable quantity (i.e. hand-carry size) for private consumption”, with no permit needed inside that. The 5kg figure people repeat is real, but it belongs to meat and seafood, not fruit. So there is no durian number to stay under, only a judgement about whether your load looks personal or commercial.

If you are bringing back a few fruits from a Pahang trip, declare them and you should be within the personal allowance. If you are bringing back a car boot full, you are importing, and that is a different process.

Sources and how this page is maintained

The MRT position is drawn from the text of the Rapid Transit Systems Regulations, read on Singapore Statutes Online, and from Mothership’s reporting of operator statements on durian. Hotel charges are the hotels’ own published or stated figures where we could read them, and otherwise news reports, as marked in the table. Airline positions are the carriers’ own published policies. Import rules are the Singapore Food Agency and Singapore Customs positions on fresh fruit for personal consumption.

Rules of this kind change, and airline policy changes fastest. The import section was re-checked against the Singapore Food Agency on 13 August 2026. The MRT and bus section, the hotel charges and the airline policies were re-checked on 4 October 2026. Before a flight, confirm with the airline rather than relying on this or any other page.

Related

• Why durian smells, the chemistry behind every rule on this page
• How to store durian, including the sealing that decides whether it travels at all
• Durian season 2026, if you are timing a trip across the causeway
• Durian types and their D numbers
• All durian guides