Driving to Malaysia? Prepare to wait at least 2 hours at land checkpoints this Chinese New Year

Travelling to Malaysia this Chinese New Year? 

Be prepared to wait for some time at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from Thursday (Feb 8).

According to real-time traffic updates from Checkpoint.sg at 5pm, it would take two hours or longer to enter Malaysia via both land checkpoints.

In a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that there was heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint due to tail back from Malaysia.

"Delays are expected and travellers are advised to check traffic conditions before embarking on their journey."

Some travellers to Malaysia got an early start on Thursday, as a TikTok video showed heavy traffic flow at the Causeway towards Johor Bahru at 7.15am.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@jbsgcauseway/video/7333005370903858439[/embed]

"Expecting heavy traffic jam from today for Chinese New Year long weekend," TikTok user JBSGCauseway wrote.

On Feb 2, ICA issued an advisory saying that very heavy traffic is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints over the festive period from Feb 8 to Feb 13.

The authority observed a trend of more travellers using the land checkpoints over long weekends in January.

In the recent weekend from Jan 26 to 28, there was continuous heavy traffic at the land checkpoints, with over 1.37 million crossings in total.

ICA advised travellers to factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance during the Chinese New Year long weekend, adding that those travelling by car may have to wait up to three hours.

ICA also urged motorists to check the traffic situation at land checkpoints via OneMotoring before embarking on their journey.

The authority warned motorists not to cut queues, as anyone caught doing so would be turned away to re-enter the queue.

ashwini.balan@asiaone.com