SINGAPORE: Heavy traffic is expected at Singapore’s Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints for more than a month, during Hari Raya Haji, the Vesak Day long weekend and the June school holidays.
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Friday (May 22) that it expects very heavy traffic at the checkpoints from May 26 to Jun 28.
Hari Raya Haji falls on May 27, while Vesak Day is on May 31. The June school holidays last from May 30 to Jun 28.
“Travellers are encouraged to plan their journey ahead of time and consider travelling during non-peak hours, such as early mornings and late evenings,” said ICA.
“They should also check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints before embarking on their journey.”
Longer waiting times during peak travel periods should also be expected as ICA has stepped up security checks at all checkpoints since late February, due to the “heightened global security environment”, it said.
TRAVEL ADVICE
More than two million travellers crossed the two checkpoints during the recent Labour Day long weekend, said ICA. Traffic peaked on Apr 30, with close to 580,000 people crossing that day.
During peak hours, those travelling by car had to wait up to three hours for immigration clearance due to traffic tailbacks from Malaysia, said ICA.
The immigration authority has been introducing initiatives to enable faster immigration clearance.
These include QR code clearance and facial recognition clearance for motorcyclists and pillion riders at the land checkpoints.
Both initiatives increased clearance throughput by more than 35 per cent during departure peak periods compared to pre-COVID levels in 2019, allowing 7,600 more travellers to clear immigration per hour, said ICA.
“Travellers are strongly encouraged to use QR codes generated via the MyICA mobile app for faster and more convenient immigration clearance,” it said.
For those travelling by bus, passengers in wheelchairs and family groups of up to four members, including those with children below six years old, can use the QR codes at the special assistance lanes for faster immigration clearance, it added.
