Travellers to Johor told to expect ‘very heavy’ checkpoint traffic over Hari Raya long weekend

SINGAPORE - Travellers to Johor over the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri long weekend can expect “very heavy” traffic at both the Woodlands and Tuas land checkpoints, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on March 26.

The ICA advised travellers to factor in additional time to clear immigration via the Causeway or Second Link during the long weekend that starts on March 28 and ends on March 31, a public holiday in Singapore. March 31 and April 1, the first and second days of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, will be public holidays in Malaysia, according to Singapore’s consulate-general in Johor Bahru.

More than 5.6 million travellers cleared both land checkpoints to enter Johor from March 14 to 24,

which also included the March 15 to 23 school holidays.

Over 550,000 travellers crossed the two checkpoints on March 17, a Monday. Tailbacks from Malaysia were observed, with car travellers waiting up to three hours to clear immigration, the ICA said.

The most travellers recorded clearing on a single day remains more than 562,000 on Dec 20, 2024.

The ICA reminded drivers to observe traffic rules and maintain lane discipline, or consider taking cross-border bus services to get to Johor.

The Malaysian state was marred by floods last week, with some areas, including Johor Bahru, heavily affected by knee-high water levels, according to local media and images circulated online. More than 13,000 people in the state were displaced from their homes and forced to evacuate to relief centres.

The floods have also contributed to increased congestion within Johor because of road closures and traffic slowing to a snail’s crawl.

One Malaysian driver took six hours to get home from her workplace, a journey that would normally take around 30 to 40 minutes, Malaysian daily The Star reported.