SINGAPORE: Heavy traffic through the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints is expected over the next few days due to the upcoming National Day public holiday, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Thursday (Aug 4).
National Day falls on Aug 9, which is next Tuesday.
“Travellers should expect delays from Aug 5 to Aug 10 and are advised to adjust their travel plans, where possible, to avoid being caught in traffic congestion,” said ICA.
The agency said traffic flow through the checkpoints has been gradually increasing. The number of travellers exceeded 290,000 per day over the last weekend – the highest since the reopening of the land borders on Apr 1.
This surpassed the previous weekend record of 278,000 travellers per day during the June school holidays.
There were 224,000 travellers per day during the Vesak Day weekend in May, and 149,000 travellers per day during the Good Friday weekend in April.
During the peak of the National Day long weekend in 2019, travellers departing and arriving by car through the land checkpoints had to wait up to four hours before clearing immigration, said ICA.
The agency advised travellers to factor in additional time for immigration clearance and avoid the following peak hours:
Departing Singapore
Friday (Aug 5): 3pm to 11.59pm
Saturday (Aug 6): 6am to 10am, 4pm to 9pm
Arriving in Singapore
Sunday (Aug 7) to Wednesday (Aug 10): 6pm to 11.59pm
Travellers leaving via Woodlands Checkpoint should also note that upgrading works on arrival immigration car booths are ongoing at Malaysia’s Bangunan Sultan Iskandar since Jun 6. Booths undergoing upgrading will not be operational during this period.
ICA also advised motorists to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints through the Land Transport Authority’s One Motoring website or via the Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS) installed along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
Motorists can also get updates on the traffic situation through ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as local radio stations.
Since Monday, all travellers entering Malaysia no longer need to fill in the traveller’s card in the MySejahtera mobile application.
The move is aimed at simplifying entry procedures, Malaysia’ Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said last week.