Travelling to Malaysia? Expect delays of up to 3 hours at land checkpoints ahead of Good Friday weekend

Heading to Malaysia this weekend?

Travellers can expect delays of up to three hours at both Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Thursday (March 28) evening.

Noting that there is very heavy departure traffic at the land checkpoints, ICA said: "At Woodlands Checkpoint, departure car queues tailback from Malaysia have extended beyond Woodlands Ave 3 Exit 10A.

"At Tuas Checkpoint, departure car queues tailback from Malaysia has extended to the Second Link Bridge."

On Monday, ICA warned travellers to expect delays at the checkpoints ahead of the Good Friday weekend as well as festivals such as Qing Ming Festival and Hari Raya Puasa. 

Travellers entering Malaysia on Thursday shared photos on Facebook, showing large crowds at the customs.

During the recent March school holidays, over 5.1 million travellers crossed the land checkpoints, ICA said. On March 15, ICA saw the highest recorded number of travellers — close to half a million of them.

Use QR code to clear immigration

For faster immigration clearance, ICA encouraged those travelling in cars to use the new QR code system. 

The initiative, which was launched on March 19, allows travellers heading in and out of Singapore by car at land checkpoints to clear immigration without presenting their passports. 

The QR codes can be used to clear individual travellers or groups of up to 10 people travelling in the same vehicle.

ICA also reminded motorists not to cut the queue as doing so can cause severe congestion and compromise the safety of other motorists.

Before travelling to the checkpoints, motorists should check the traffic situation at land checkpoints via OneMotoring website before embarking on their journey.

Motorists can also get updates through ICA's Facebook and Twitter accounts, and radio broadcasts on Money FM 89.3, One FM 91.3, Kiss92, 96.3 Hao FM and UFM100.3.

ashwini.balan@asiaone.com