SINGAPORE: Motorists planning to cross into Malaysia for the Hari Raya Haji holiday are advised to factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance, as heavy traffic is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from Wednesday (Jun 28) to next Monday.
“Travellers departing by car should expect waiting times of close to three hours for peak periods over long weekends, similar to pre-COVID days,” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in an advisory issued on Tuesday.
The land checkpoints saw continuous heavy traffic during the June school holidays and peaked at about 430,000 crossings on Jun 16, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
More than 1.2 million travellers – averaging about 406,000 crossings a day – used the land checkpoints between Jun 16 and 18, ICA said.
“During that weekend, ICA noted that there were long queues of cars waiting to clear departure coupled with continuous tailbacks from Malaysia,” it added. “Despite the start of school on Jun 26, more than 1.1 million travellers cleared through immigration at the land checkpoints in the last weekend (Jun 24 to 26).”
Motorists are advised to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints through the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring website, or via the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System installed along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
Updates are also available through ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as from local radio broadcasts.