Pilots of private aircraft face tough new restrictions on flying over much of south-east England from midnight as security measures are stepped up for the Olympic Games.
They will be banned completely from some parts of central London, and will need to liaise with the RAF if they want to fly in controlled airspace, with military air traffic controllers watching their movements.
Group Captain Rich Jacob told Sky News: "We need to understand what is flying in the airspace above London.
"Therefore the pilots are going to be required to pass details of their flights in advance, have that flight approved, and then once they're airborne they need to remain in contact with air traffic control throughout their flight in the restricted airspace."
Failure to comply could result in RAF Typhoon jets or military helicopters being sent up to intercept them and guide them back on course. Unidentified aircraft which do not respond could be shot down as a last resort.
"Every effort will be made to identify that aircraft and every opportunity will be given to the pilot to regain his planned route," Capt Jacob said.
"If that didn't happen, we already ensure the security of UK airspace 24/7 throughout the year, and what we would do then is build on existing measures to take further action if necessary."
The draconian rules have been introduced to cope with both the potential security threat to Olympic sites and to help maintain some control at a busy time for air traffic controllers.
Paul Haskins the London General Manager of the National Air Traffic Services said: "London's airspace is one of the most complex and busy in the world. We handle about 3,500 flights a day just through London alone.
"During the Olympics we're seeing an additional 4,000 flights scheduled into London primarily on six busy days just prior to the opening ceremony, around the 100m final and again just after the closing ceremony."
But the new rules worry pilots who only fly for fun and are not used to strict controls on how they operate.
Rob Lugt, who flies at the Fair Oaks airfield in Surrey told Sky News: "It is a little bit daunting, especially as you know there is military hardware there as back up if you get it wrong.
"The difficulties will come if there is some kind of electrical failure on the aeroplane," he said.
"Many social pilots like myself aren't that experienced so if we had some sort of failure it would take a lot of our attention to try to rectify that. And while we're rectifying it, it's possible we could do something the military thought was dangerous. That's when the problem would happen."
Andy Raymond, the chairman of the London Transport Flying Club, which is based at the airfield, took me for a short flight and as soon as we took off we were immediately inside the new restricted zone.
He said many pilots will not risk flying during the restrictions which run until August 15.
"I do understand it partly because we are so close to London; we could be in Heathrow in minutes and central London in a few more minutes, so I do understand some of the restrictions, but nevertheless it doesn't do us much good," he said.
Most pilots have to fly every 28 days to keep their licences up to date but anyone who breaches the Olympic regulations could have their licence suspended.
